Exiled Legend
by ItzRayz
Summary: What if Jiraiya leaves with a 5 year old Naruto for a long training journey? How will his life be different? Watch as Naruto experience harsh obstacles before finally becoming a legend.
1. A New Legacy

Authors Note: I do NOT own any of the Naruto characters in any way or else I'll be rich and would be lying in a hammock right now but yeah… this is a prelude to my story. Hope you enjoy it and all reviews are welcomed.

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Chapter 1: A New Legacy

_In the Hokage Tower_

"Arashi, what are you doing?" Sarutobi inquired. Even though he was no longer the Third Hokage, he still stopped by the office in times of danger or for a social call. He was being ignored by his successor who was scrambling around the room looking for certain objects.

"Scrolls … Checked"

"Seals … Checked"

Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage of the village, was so engrossed in his work that he forgot that someone was in the room with him.

"Ramen … checked and double checked".

Sarutobi chuckled at that remark. He knew that the Yondaime has an obsession with it. Whenever Arashi heard the word "Ramen" or god foretell "Free Ramen", he would disappear from the office to Ichiraku Ramen Bar faster than Tsunade running away from debt collectors.

"Ahem, Arashi," Sarutobi raised his voice, trying to get his attention without catching him on surprise.

"Oh hey old man, I didn't see you there" Sarutobi shook his head, this was the man who was suppose to be the Hokage and yet, he was as carefree as a dog searching for his bone.

"Arashi, I've been standing here for 10 minutes listening to your so called check list."

"Heh, sorry old man, I was too busy thinking about important things." Arashi was still running around the office, searching through his drawers, the bookshelf, just about anything if he could remember what he was looking for. Sarutobi again laughed but he realized this wasn't a proper situation to be doing this.

Sarutobi looked at the young Hokage for a minute. "What are you going to do about Kyuubi outside your window?" Arashi stiffened for a moment when Sarutobi mentioned the beast but relaxed, with a playful gleam in his eyes. Sarutobi noticed the gleam in his eyes, which he immediately recognized.

"Oh no… Arashi, tell me your not going to humiliate Kyuubi. He is supposedly the _king of the Bijuu_. I seriously don't think you have the time to mess with him while he's off destroying the village." Sarutobi glared at Arashi, hoping that he would have matured, as he became Hokage.

Arashi walked over to the window, looking at the utter destruction the beast was causing.

"You have known me since I was young. I always do things with a certain _flair_ to it. While as the Yondaime Hokage, I must do all I can to ensure the survival of this village." He turned around to look at his predecessor.

"We have been fighting the Kyuubi all night and it doesn't look like it will go down any time soon. We also have a lot of casualties on our side." Sarutobi walked up to Arashi who was still looking out his office window. "I hope you have something else planned because we're running out of time and ideas." He placed his hand on Arashi's shoulder to show that he believed in his ability to protect the people.

"Well, when physical attacks don't work, there are also mental attacks. A wise person once said to me, "When the odds are against you, never play your trump card until the end." The time to show our hand is now."

Sarutobi stood there smiling at the statement. It sounded so wise and insightful. He wondered who could have given Arashi advice. "Who was this wise person?"

Arashi grinned and replied "Tsunade-hime."

Sarutobi flinched at that answer. He couldn't but help wonder why Arashi would listen to Tsunade about gambling advice. "Arashi, do you know the nickname that was given to my student?"

"The Slug Master!" replied Arashi, not really seeing the point that Sarutobi was trying to get across.

"No, she has _another_ nickname. She's known as the Legendary Sucker." Arashi's faced went paled but soon dismissed the idea. "Sarutobi-sensei, that doesn't matter because advice is advice, it comes from experience."

"So what is this "trump card" that you're holding in your hands Arashi?" Sarutobi was really curious to find out. Regular kunais and shurikens can't pierce the Kyuubi and it seems to be immune to jutsus.

"I'm planning on showing Kyuubi why he should fear the name of the Yondaime. If I should humiliate Kyuubi along the way, it's an added bonus." Arashi grinned. He always wanted to go out with a bang and with his plan; it will be just a bang.

"Arashi, I thought your prankster days were over once you became Hokage" Sarutobi stood there shaking his head. He couldn't help but feel relax in Arashi's presence. Arashi has been known to keep the spirits alive, even in situations like this.

"Old man, you know what they say, once a prankster, always a prankster." Arashi flashed a smile. Arashi looked out at the window, staring at the mayhem that the Kyuubi was causing over the village.

"Kakashi, come here, I need you to do me a favor." Arashi yelled out the window. Kakashi then appeared in a puff of smoke next to Sarutobi.

"Arashi-sensei, the situation is getting out of hand, we can't hold Kyuubi back any longer, are you almost done with your plan?" Kakashi looked to his sensei for some sort of answer. In reality, they weren't really holding the Kyuubi; it was more of them marching in to the Kyuubi's mouth for dinner.

Kakashi then noticed that Arashi was not in his cheerful, joking state. Instead, he saw his sensei with the look of determination on his face.

"Yes Kakashi, I want you to get my son."

Sarutobi wondered why Arashi would want to see his son, unless it was the… "Arashi NO, you can't be using _that_ jutsu, especially on your own flesh and blood."

"Sarutobi, I have put a lot of thought into this decision, I can not ask any other parent to make the same sacrifice that I am making. A child should never have to carry such a burden on his or her shoulders at a young age. That's why I can't ask any other parents to make the same sacrifice but I know that my son will be a hero. I will always be watching over Naruto and that's why I also want you two to watch over him for me until he's able to stand on his own feet. I want the village to see my son as a hero, not the Kyuubi."

"Arashi… I…" Sarutobi started to speak but Arashi asked again, with a more firmed tone. "Will you watch over Naruto for me?"

Sarutobi couldn't do anything but nod his head. "Yes, I will. I'll make sure of that. What about Jiraiya?" Sarutobi wondered why his former student was not present during the time of a crisis.

Arashi smiled as he thought of his sensei. "Jiraiya's currently away from the village doing his so called "research" but he'll be back to look after my son. I've sent a message to Jiraiya before. Who seriously does not want the chance to train the son of the Legendary Yondaime?" Arashi laughed as he said that and looked over to Kakashi to see what his response was.

Kakashi also nodded his head, not wanting his sensei to worry.

"Okay then, Kakashi, get Naruto and meet me at the battle, when I give the signal, hand me Naruto and get out as fast as you can. Is that clear?"

Kakashi didn't quite understand the plan but nodded his head and disappeared. Arashi took one last look at his friend, his father-like figure, and said good-bye. Today was the day that Kyuubi was defeated but not without casualties. Konoha suffered major losses, buildings destroyed, deaths for family and friends and most importantly, this was the night that the Greatest Hokage in the history of Konohagakure mocked the king of the bijuu one last time before he sealed it in his new born son named Naruto.

_Several hours later_

As Sarutobi took one last look around before he resumed active duty as Hokage, he whispered to no one in particular "Rest well Arashi, I'll watch over Naruto no matter what…" and thus he continued walking through the village surveying the damage.

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Authors note: woo the first story I wrote and it was long, I thought long and hard on how I wanted this scene to play out and it seemed to turn out better than I pictured! Well this is how I imagined the scene would have went before episode 1 of Naruto. Just so you know, the pairings won't be coming into effect yet but I'm thinking of an OC but if you readers want something different, feel free to run them by me, that's fine as well and I'll look into it. Will update frequently. 


	2. The Fateful Night

Authors note: Again, if I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be here writing papers, I would be in Florida on my hammock.. Thanks to the reviews guys, I take each review into thought personally and I try to incorporate your views and concerns into my story so dont stop reviewing, it makes me feel great to know that people actually like it.

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Chapter 2: The Fateful Night

It has been 5 years since that fateful night, the night where the mighty Kyuubi was sealed and the night the Yondaime Hokage fell. Konoha continued on with their daily lives, rebuilding the village to its former glory. Even though it has been 5 years, a constant reminder of what happened that night still stood.

The Sandaime Hokage couldn't help smile from his desk. '_Today's the day_' he thought while stretching his arms. For once, he was done with all the paperwork. As he rose from his desk, he slowly walked over to the window. It was a special day for the village. Today was the day that Kyuubi was sealed away forever. The village usually has a celebration and everyone was invited to attend. Well almost everyone. '_Arashi, it's been 5 long years. I'm still doing all I can to watch over Naruto for you.'_ He sighed and gazed up to the sky. As he turned around, he saw something that made his eyebrows twitched. In front of him stood a stack of papers, taller than his first pile.

Jiraiya then walked into the office. "Yo, old man." Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork to see his former student.

"Jiraiya, where have you been?"

"Well you know, here and there sensei but look at what I have here for you, the latest in the Icha Icha Paradise series." He held up the book and tossed it to the old man.

"Cough Jiraiya, this isn't the time for this ..." Sarutobi said as he quickly hid the book into the drawer.

"You know you love it old man, Everyone does!" Jiraiya proclaimed.

"Why didn't you come back sooner? Didn't you get the message?"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head nervously, knowing whatever answer he gave would get him into trouble. "Yeah, I got the message.. but you know, I was preoccupied with certain tasks."

"Are you telling me that, all you been doing for these past 5 years is research?" Sarutobi stared with a icy glare.

"Did you _not_ honor your students dying wish?"

Sarutobi, at this point was leering over Jiraiya. Jiraiya couldn't help but back away to the wall as he felt the killer intent leaking out from the Sandaime.

"Hey hey, Sarutobi-sensei" Jiraiya waving his hands trying to calm down the old man.

"I have a good reason for this, just let me explain." Sarutobi backed away letting Jiraiya explain.

"This better be good or I'll have you charged with a capital offense for peeping at the women hot springs."

"What; you can't be serious! I bet you don't have any evidence old man" Jiraiya said, having a smirk on his face.

Sarutobi just pointed to the increasing papers on his desk. "That was all from your little adventure today."

Jiraiya mentally cursed himself for his luck. '_I should really consider a set of binoculars.'  
_  
"I have been monitoring several activities and movements from this organization. They are currently seeking out the bijuus for some unknown purposes."

Sarutobi sighed and said, "I know, I've been reading your reports but couldn't you have come back sooner?" Before Jiraiya could answer, Kakashi busted into the room.

"Hokage-sama, The villagers are after Naruto again. It looks really bad this time."

Sarutobi looked at Jiraiya and nodded. "Okay lets hurry, Kakashi gather some Anbu, we might need some help." The figures in the room disappeared into the night.

5 year old Naruto was running, anywhere that was away from this place. Everywhere he went, the villagers were throwing hateful glares at him. Some even picked up stones and threw them at Naruto as he ran by. As far as Naruto knew, he was scared, more scared than usual. '_Why are they hurting me again, I didn't do anything to them._' Naruto thought sadly.

As Naruto ran, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and turned right at a corner to bump into something hard.

"Sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Naruto said, not daring to look up to meet the man's face.

"Demon scum, I should …"

The man was interrupted by several chunnin that appeared from the roof top. "Sir, did this demon attack you?"

"Yes he did, in fact he **assaulted** me" the villager spat out. Naruto cringed as the chunnins smirked.

"Well well, if it isn't our lucky day. Demon scum, do you know that the punishment for attacking a Konoha citizen is punishable by _death_?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the news. He started running away as fast as he could from them.

"Okay guys, its time for a game of hide and seek, kunai style." said a chunnin. All the chunnins grabbed some kunais from their pouch and disappeared. Naruto continued running as fast as he can but it wasn't fast enough. The chunnins reappeared around Naruto, surrounding him with no where else to go. They brought the kunais down slashing Naruto. On pure instinct, Naruto brought up his arms to block the incoming weapons but it didn't help much. He was slashed everywhere from the arms to the legs.

"Ugh, why are you doing this to me.." whimpered Naruto as he was on the ground.

A chunnin spat out "This is for my brother who you murdered you **monster**."

Naruto couldn't help but feel helpless as he closed his eyes waiting for the final blow.

As the chunnin brought down the kunai, something hard connected with the hand that held the kunai, forcing him to drop it to the ground.

"What.." The chunnins looked around seeing what happened and saw something that frightened them.

There stood the Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya and several Anbu.

"**Kanashibari no Jutsu**" cried out Jiraiya.

The group of chunnins immediately found themselves unable to move.

"H-Hokage-sama, the demon attacked a villager, we were mere…" A fist connected to the jaw of the chunnin that was speaking, sending him into a nearby wall.

Jiraiya walked up to the fallen chunnin and said "What was that again? I dare you to repeat it." He gave the chunnin a look that if it could kill, he'd be dead already. Sarutobi looked at each one of them in shame.

"Get them out of my sight and give them to Ibiki Morino. He said he needed more volunteers." The chuunins paled at the name of Ibiki.

"Hai Hokage-same." The Anbu quickly took off with their gift for the sadist.

Sarutobi then walked over to a shaking Naruto. He kneeled down to take look at Naruto. When he saw the blue eyes, it no longer held the happiness that Sarutobi saw everyday, it was filled with sadness and betrayal. Sarutobi couldn't help but feel some hatred towards the village. '_a child should never experience pain like this.. I'm very sorry that you have to experience this Naruto._' Sarutobi thought to himself.

Jiraiya noticed the wounds on Naruto; they were already healing up. '_so this is the power of Kyuubi.. Interesting.'_ Jiraiya thought as he was fascinated by the rate of the healing power.

"How many attempts were there old man?" Sarutobi looked up with a sad expression. Anger clearly written on Jiraiya's face.

"Around 50 just this past year. I don't know how much longer I can keep the boy from harm. There were attacks from villagers to even some Anbu that ranged from mild chasings to even assassination attempts done to the boy."

Jiraiya then stared at Naruto. '_Arashi… if only you could see how your son is being treated'_ he walked up to the boy but stopped when Naruto said "Are you going to hurt me too?"

"No, no I'm not" answered Jiraiya with a sense of warmth in his voice.

"Then why are you still here? No one has been there for me before and I'm not going to need them to be there for me now." replied Naruto who was no longer shaking.

"It's okay naruto, everythings going to be alright, now lets see about getting you home Naruto." Sarutobi said trying reassure Naruto that everythings going to be okay.

Naruto slouched his shoulders and said "I can't go home Sarutobi-oiji, the lady kicked me out last week." Now Sarutobi was angry. "she kicked you out? HOW DARE SHE?" he yelled.

"Ne, Sarutobi-oiji, it doesn't matter anymore, I don't feel like going back to that place anyway." Naruto said as he started walking away by himself, not caring about where he went. His clothes were soaked with blood, the bright orange jumpsuit was no longer orange, it was mixed between orange and red, more red than usual. Anyone could clearly see that it was blood stains. There were holes all over the suit exposing skin.

"Old man, it's time that I fulfilled my promise to my student."

"You mean you're taking Naruto with you?"

"Yeah, I have my reasons though. We both know that if he stays in this village, the council will be plotting more attempts to have this boy killed or the villagers could really kill him this time. There is no guarantee that they wont do this again in the future. I wont sit back and let this happen." Jiraiya said without taking his eyes off the boy.

"But if you take him outside the village, he'll be exposed to more danger."

"At least the chances of his survival is greater with me than with you. Naruto needs to learn to trust again or he'll be nothing but an empty shell."

Sarutobi thought about this for a moment and said "I would like for him to come back so he can graduate from the academy. Arashi would have wanted it."

"You got yourself a deal old man, I'll bring Naruto back to this village when he is ready for the graduation exam."

Jiraiya looked to the kid that was walking away slowly "Oi, gaki, come back here. I need to talk to you."

Naruto stopped to turn around and looked at him suspiciously.

"Why?" The two men couldn't help but notice his lack of trust.

"Naruto, what are your dreams?"

"Nani? What are dreams?" Naruto asked curiously. Sarutobi took a minute before answering. "Dreams are something that you always want but you cant have no matter how hard you wish, but if you work hard enough, you can achieve your dream. That is what a dream is."

"Then my dream is to become like Sarutobi-oiji. I want to be the greatest hokage of them all. That way, everyone will have to acknowledge me!" said Naruto. Sarutobi and Jiraiya couldn't help but smile. '_looks like we got our self another Arashi'_ they thought.

"Listen Naruto, you'll be leaving with Jiraiya for a while. It'll be a long trip."

"Are you trying to get rid of me too oiji?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

"Never Naruto, you're a precious person to me. To me, your not the demon that everyone thinks you are. To me, your Naruto Uzumaki, the next future hokage. I believe in you Naruto. Now Jiraiya here, is one of my trusted friends, behave yourself with him okay Naruto?"

Naruto turned his head to look at this "Jiraiya" person that the old man trusted.

"I know you, your that pervert that those ladies down at the hot springs were chasing."

"Gaki, do you know who your talking to? Jiraiya said.

"Yeah, you're a PERVERT" shouted Naruto.

"I'm not JUST a pervert… I'm a SUPER-PERVERT" shouted Jiraiya as he did his little dance. Sarutobi could only shake his head in disappointment.

Naruto took another look at Jiraiya. "He doesn't look so strong, he looks like a pervert."

"Oi gaki, I am one of the legendary Sennin that the hokage personally trained. With me, I'll make you strong!" Jiraiya cried out.

"So how about it Naruto, will you travel with Jiraiya?" Sarutobi asked.

"Okay oiji, I'll travel with Ero-sennin."

"Gaki, don't call me that, ITS JIRAIYA-SENSEI" he yelled out

"Whatever Ero-sennin."

"So when do we leave?"

"We leave right now" mumbled Jiraiya before he rambled on about how kids today have no respect for their elders. He gave one last look to Sarutobi before nodding his head, signaling that they were leaving. As they started walking away, Naruto turned around and shouted "OLD MAN, WHEN I COME BACK, YOUR TITLE IS AS GOOD AS MINE." and continued walking with Jiraiya.

'_Interesting kid you have there Arashi, he'll make us all proud one day."_ Sarutobi thought as he went back to the Hokage tower.

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Authors note:  
**  
Kanashibari no Jutsu - **Temporary Paralysis Technique

"_From this point on, its all original_" - Sasuke Uchiha.

Yes from this chapter one, all works will be original except for some, just wait and see.  
This has been another interesting chapter, I wonder what happens next? Will Naruto and Jiraiya play jokes on one another? Will they actually train? When will they ever come back? Answers to these and more in the next chapter. Reviews welcome anytime.


	3. A New Beginning

Authors Note: Sorry for the delay update but I had 2 papers to write and group projects to be done. Yeah.. it was a harsh week. Lets hope I have a easier week so I can finish up chapter 4. Reviews welcome

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Chapter 3: A New Beginning

_Its been 3 days since the duo left the village. _

"How much longer are we going to walk Ero-Sennin?" Naruto whined. "It feels like we walked for 10 days already."

"Stop whining boy, this is a good training exercise for you. All of this walking will help you tone up your muscles and build up your stamina."

"Training? What training? It feels like we're just aimlessly wandering around." Naruto pointed out.

Jiraiya couldn't believe the annoyance the boy was becoming. He was thinking if taking the boy with him was a mistake. "Fine gaki, we'll set up camp here and then first thing tomorrow morning, we will commence with your training."

"Yatta!" cried Naruto. He was tired of walking around all day, seeing nothing but trees and more trees. He quickly dropped his backpack to start unpacking and setting up camp.

Jiraiya was looking around in all directions as if he was trying to remember something."Gaki, go gather some firewood. I'm going to take a look around the area. I don't want some missing-nins showing up and attacking us."

"Ne, Ero-sennin, what are missing-nins?" asked Naruto. He was still unpacking some scrolls from the backpack.

"Be careful with my scrolls gaki. Missing-nins are ninjas that abandoned their village Naruto. They are considered to be dangerous and to be killed on sight, so we have to be careful." Jiraiya left Naruto alone with that thought.

'_Hmm.. Now where is it, I cant seem to find it… oh there it is!'_ He had a lecherous grin on his face as he made his way to his destination. _'Time for some research'_ He took out his notepad and quickened his pace.

'_Slave driver no good ero-sennin. I'll get him yet.' _Naruto thought as he was out hunting firewood. _'Hmm, I wonder where he went anyway'_ Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. He concentrated on the sounds around him. He heard birds flapping their wings, leaves floating in the air, the calm breeze passing through the area, a waterfall .. _'wait a waterfall?'_ Naruto shook his head in disbelief but concentrated harder. _'Yeah… that's water alright..' _He heard the sounds of splashing water and decided to follow it, hoping it would lead him to Jiraiya.

As Naruto got closer, he heard the gushing waterfall, just watching the majestic water fall down like that amazed him. There was even a rainbow that appeared as the water dropped below. His eyes soon wandered away from the waterfall to his pervert of a sensei. _'Ah-ha! I knew it, he was peeping. Damn ero-sennin.'_

As Naruto was formulating a plan in the background, Jiraiya was completely oblivious to everything around him. His only attention was the beautiful scene in front of him. _'Oh yes, the GX-300 telescope was definitely a wise investment'_ Jiraiya grinned as he continued with his research.

Meanwhile, Naruto was currently tying some strings around a log. He couldn't help but grin as he imagined the scene play out in his head. _'2 more knots and… we're done.'_ Naruto stepped back to admire his work and turned his head to see the pervert still peeping through his telescope. _'Yeah, still giggling…'_ Naruto couldn't wait for this plan to be put into action.

As Naruto snuck up against Jiraiya, he heard mild giggling sounds coming from Jiraiya. _'I feel kind of bad playing this trick on a defenseless person, but the pervert deserves it.'_ He tied the rope lightly around Jiraiya and prayed that it would work. _'Well, here goes nothing'_ He thought has he began a mental countdown.

He took a deep breathe and shouted "OI ERO-SENNIN" into the man's ear. Jiraiya's concentration immediately shattered and jumped up, knocking over his telescope and tugging on the rope. He was now caught in a bad situation, he was between a cliff and Naruto who was currently on the floor laughing. He searched his body to see if anything was missing but as he looked up, he was greeted with a log that hit him straight on the chest. A girlish scream was all Naruto heard as Jiraiya flew down the cliff into the water.

Later that night. "You didn't have to hit me that hard ero-sennin" Naruto complained while rubbing his head that was sporting a lump.

"Shut up gaki, you not only ruined my research but you ruined my expensive telescope!" cried Jiraiya, having fake tears. An idea popped into Jiraiya's head but he pushed it aside for later.

"Now go to sleep, we'll start training tomorrow" Naruto reluctantly went to sleep mumbling about child abuse.

It was early morning, everything was quiet throughout the forest, if a person stood still, they could hear the screams of a boy yelling and the sounds of laughter echoing throughout the forest.

"Baka ero-sennin" Naruto grumbled as he was standing outside his tent. It was earlier this morning when Naruto was rudely awaken by a pail of cold water that Jiraiya dumped over his head.

"Still mad gaki?" Jiraiya asked still laughing.

"Enough already ero-sennin. Lets get training" Naruto said eagerly.

Jiraiya stopped laughing and dried the tears from his eyes. "Okay okay, first I need to ask you a few questions"

"Nani? For what?"

"Baka, so I know where to start training you"

"Ah I see" Naruto nodded his head in understandment with what Jiraiya explained.

"First, what do you know about chakra?"

"Hmm…" Naruto thought for a second. "Chakra is a mixture of energy within the body. I guess that a person would have to concentrate in order to draw out chakra."

'_Hmm. For a person of that age to grasp the basic meaning is incredible'_ Jiraiya thought. "Naruto, where did you learn that from?"

"I overheard some big kids talking about it before their parents well you know…" Naruto said with his head down.

"It's okay Naruto, you did a good job explaining chakra to me. Now for a history lesson, what happened to the Kyuubi?"

Jiraiya knew that if he was to train the boy, he needed to know everything about the Kyuubi and understand it.

"The Kyuubi..? oh the fox! um… he was killed by the Yondaime Hokage" Naruto said looking excited.

'_I see that the 3rd's law was still in effect..' _thought Jiraiya. "Wrong Naruto"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a confused face.

"Have you ever wondered about yourself Naruto? You heal a lot faster than most people, you probably have other abilities that even I'm not aware of."

Naruto thought about this. "Yeah, I do have some special skills. My senses are a lot sharper, I guess that's how I found you by that waterfall and I think I do have a faster healing rate but what does that have to do with anything?"

Jiraiya could only grit his teeth in annoyance. He was practically telling the boy that he had a demon inside him, what more of a hint does a person need before finally realizing. He slowly counted to 10 before continuing.

"Gaki, have you ever felt another presence inside of you?"

"Um.. Yeah, sometimes when I get angry or feel alone."

"Okay good, good. At least you understand some part of what I'm trying to say." Jiraiya took a deep breathe before continuing. He was hesitating, deciding whether or not to tell him. He already knew the kid had it rough but to have his world come crashing down was the pits. _'If he is anything like his old man, he'll just bounce right back up'_ Jiraiya thought.

"Naruto, the truth is… the Kyuubi wasn't killed, he was sealed inside a new born baby. That newborn baby was _you_ Naruto. He is sealed right here." Jiraiya patted his stomach as to point out to Naruto where the fox was sealed.

Naruto's eyes widen. The news hit him like a rock. "You mean.. I'm the Kyuubi? So that's the reason why everyone hates me?" Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

'_Aw damn, this is why I didn't want to tell him, what should I do now..'_ Jiraiya thought.

"Naruto, I will say this once. You are NOT the Kyuubi and never will be. You are the jailor and he is your prisoner. You are the person who will take the Hokage title from the old man. Don't you forget that."

Naruto stood there, tears still flowing out but he was shocked to see that there was another person besides the old man to actually acknowledge him.  
"Since you know the truth, what will you do now?"

"I…I… I want…" Naruto said as he was wiping off the tears from his face.

Jiraiya held up a hand to his ear. "What's that? I can't hear you"

Naruto took a breathe before shouting "IM GOING TO BE THE NEXT HOKAGE ERO-SENNIN"

Jiraiya could only smile. "Good gaki, now lets get started on your training. In the morning, we work on your warm-up skills before we move into taijutsu training. In the afternoon, we break into Ninjutsu. We won't be staying in the same area all the time, we will always be moving. We'll be in Takigakure by the end of the week. Do you understand me?"

Naruto could only shake his head in excitement, he wasn't paying attention to anything Jiraiya said and only heard up to Ninjustu. His mind started to wander off as Jiraiya continued on with his lecture. '_I'm going to be strong enough so everyone will acknowledge me. I won't have to be alone and helpless anymore. I swear upon myself that no matter what, I will succeed.'_ Naruto said to himself.

"What are you still doing here gaki, I thought I told you to run around the forest are 10 times."

"NANI? that's like going around half of Konoha 5 times Ero-sennin" Naruto shouted out

"Too bad, no pain no gain, now get moving." Naruto mumbled something about payback as he started his laps around the forest but Jiraiya just shrugged it off.

As the days passed, these training sessions or as Naruto would call it "Torture practices" went by without trouble. It was a basic routine, train until Naruto falls to exhaustion. As days moved to weeks to months, Naruto steadily increased his speed, power and stamina. All of which was thanks to those daily exercises that Jiraiya had him doing. His ninjutsu was no slouch either. At first Naruto couldn't do a normal bushin because of too much chakra input so Jiraiya gave him the Kage Bushin no Jutsu technique. At first, Naruto could only create 10 clones but as his training increased, he could produce a lot more. The time that they spent from village to village varied as Jiraiya would throw Naruto a scroll with instructions for the day in order to go off to do some of his research.

_Time Skip_

'_So this is Iwagakure'_ Naruto thought. _'Doesn't compare to Sunagakure though'  
_  
"Ne ero-sennin, can you believe it has been 2 years since we left?"

"Yeah gaki, it has been quite a long time." Jiraiya said. He thought as to how Naruto progressed in these past 2 years. The boy no longer sported a bright orange jumpsuit that had a sign that said "Attack me, I'm over here". The boy had definitely matured. He was now wearing a black shirt over a netted one over it. His pants were now black with bandages wrapped around his right leg. Jiraiya wondered what to do next with the boy.

"Naruto, today you have the day off, go do something kids your age would do. Have fun for once"

"Kids my age wouldn't be chased away from their village ero-sennin"

"Point taken Naruto but go out and _try_ to have some fun."

"I'll try ero-sennin but no guarantees." Naruto said.

Naruto's been avoiding contact with people ever since they left Konoha to travel around. Jiraiya couldn't understand as to why the boy would act so anti-social to others and be himself when he is alone.

'_It is a shame to see a mask on the face of that boy…'_ Jiraiya thought. _'Only in time will he begin to realize that not everyone is so evil.'_ "Okay, go wander gaki, I have to collect some information"

"Like hell you do ero-sennin" Jiraiya smacked Naruto over his head. "Respect gaki respect, didn't you learn anything?"

Naruto scowled as he walked off. _'No sense in wasting the day not training'_ he thought has he went to find a training place.

As Naruto hopped over houses, he spotted a nice secluded spot away from the village where he can endanger it. The are was kind of nice as well. It was surrounded with bamboo trees and it produced a feeling of serenity. '_Okay first off,' _**Kage Bushin no Jutsu.** Several clones appeared as Naruto finished.  
"Okay I want 2 of you clones to practice the techniques on this scroll, the rest of you, lets rumble" Naruto said with a smile on his face.

As Naruto started his training session, he failed to noticed a pair of eyes watching his every move. _'Hmm, for a kid, he's not half bad, I wonder how he does when he's ambushed.' _without a sound, the figure blurred out of sight and reappeared in front of Naruto's clones, giving them a swift roundhouse kick to the side, knocking them out of existence. The figure stood up and looked at Naruto. "Well well, what do we have here, a little boy playing ninja?" Naruto couldn't help but back away. He felt an intense amount of killer intent being released from the figure and he couldn't shake off the image inside his mind telling himself that he was going to die. The figure was sporting a dark cloak that hid his features and wore a straw hat over his head.

"Who are you?" was the only question Naruto got out.

"Your executioner" was the only response the figure gave before blurring out of Naruto's sight.

'_Fast'_ Naruto thought. He caught a sound coming from his right and instantly put up his arm to guard. The hit connected with his arm, forcing Naruto back a couple of yards. Naruto then jumped back while throwing several kunais at the figure. As the mysterious figure proceeded to dodge, he merely caught each of those kunais with his hand. Naruto's eyes widen as he looked amazed while rubbing his right arm. He then heard a couple of shuriken coming from his left. He jumped over them only to find the figure suddenly above him. _'Shit'_ Naruto couldn't counter it in time so he took a swift kick to the chest that sent him back to the ground. _'Okay, no more playing around'_ Naruto thought. _'If I can't see him, he won't be able to see me either'_ Naruto flashed through the hand seals and cried out **Kiri Gakure no Jutsu**. As mist began spreading all over, Naruto did the seals for Kage Bushin and 5 clones appeared besides him.

'_Hmm. The kid lacks strength but makes up for it with his ingenuity'_ the figure thought while observing from the tree. Naruto was standing at the center of the mist, looking around. _'He won't be able to find me if he's just going to stand there all day'_ The figure turned sideways to be greeted by Naruto's fist as it connected.

Poof _'Shit'_ Kawarmi, Naruto thought. He spotted him standing in the center of the area and saw the heals seals being produced but Naruto couldn't figure out what jutsu he was doing. **Futon: Daitoppa**, the figure cried out. The area was engulfed by raging winds clearing the mist out from the area.

'_Now'_ Naruto mentally said as the clones rushed to engage him. 2 clones jumped in from the front to punch him but the man sidestepped them and chopping them in the back, making them disappear; only to meet 2 other clones rushing in to kick him. As the man raised his arms to catch their legs, hands shot up from the ground and grabbed his ankles. _'Shit'_ the man's eyes widened. He had not foreseen this attack coming. **Doton Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** success, smirked Naruto as he jumped up from the ground. The man only smirked before vanishing out of existence. _'Bushin?'_ Naruto thought.

He signaled the rest of his clones to come back and form a circle formation. _'Where is he'_ Naruto thought as he tried looking through the area. "I'm right here" a voice said from inside the formation. Before Naruto could turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his back as he was kicked hard. His clones disappeared as Naruto landed on the ground. Naruto couldn't get up and felt helpless as the man approached with a katana out. _'Damn it, I swore to myself that I won't be weak, I cant die NOW!' _As Naruto struggled to get up, red chakra startd leaking out, engulfing Naruto. Bruise marks started healing as Naruto stood up. The man stood there shocked, _'Oh crap'_ he thought has he saw the chakra flaring around Naruto. His eyes changed from a blue sense to red slits. Naruto was leaking out killer intent that froze the man in place. For the first time in his life, he was actually scared of death.

"Enough Naruto" a voice said. Naruto looked around and found the source of that voice. "Ero-sennin" growled Naruto. Jiraiya appeared in front of Naruto, hoping to calm him down. "It's about time you showed up, he was going to kill me" Naruto said.

"No he wasn't. This man here is called Gensai Kawakami, an ranked A class missing-nin, specializes in Taijutsu and Kenjitsu."

"Nice to meet you Naruto-san" Gensai said while bowing to Naruto. "I apologize for my behavior earlier but I was sent here to test you by Jiraiya-sama."

"Humph, I knew that" Naruto said after calming down a bit. He looked at the man for a second before turning to Jiraiya.

"Gaki, you did okay but it is still not good enough. Gensai here will help train you since I'm going to be a bit busy later on." Jiraiya explained.

"Yatta! A new sensei" Naruto shouted while jumping around.

"Your skills are below average Naruto-san, if I went all out, you would have been dead before you knew it." Naruto slumped at his comment. "Come now, we have much to practice on. I want you to give me 20 laps around this village now." Naruto's jaw dropped to his displeasure. Not only was this guy strong, he was also twice the slave driver ero-sennin is. Naruto started running off grumbling about unfair teachers.

As Jiraiya saw Naruto disappear into the forest, "Thank you for getting involved with Naruto's training, Gensai"

"No, the pleasure's all mine. The boy has much potential. It shall be an honor to help him sharpen his skills."

As Naruto was coming back from his first lap, Jiraiya took out a box and called Naruto to come over. "Here Naruto, I got you a gift." Naruto looked at him strangely, "It's not going to explode in my face right ero-sennin"

"No baka, it's an early birthday present"

"Birthday present?" Naruto asked excitedly. "Yes baka! Now open it." As Naruto ripped open the box, he found himself a volume set of Icha Icha Paradise 1 - 3 in which Jiraiya claimed it was never too early to start finding himself a girlfriend. As he put the books on the ground, he saw bracers that were also in the box too. He eyed the bracers curiously "what are these?"

"These are chakra enhanced bracers" Gensai replied while pointing to his own.

"Put them on your arms and legs and then channel some chakra into them"

Naruto did as he was told and soon found himself unable to stand correctly. He swayed back and forth for a second before falling on all fours.

"Naruto, your weight is now about 40 pounds heavier, as you progress through your training, we'll increase those weights as I see fit." Naruto could only stare at the crazy man.

"Trust me it'll help in the long run" Jiraiya replied.

Naruto tried standing up but found that difficult. "Okay now since you're getting used to the weights, continue on with your running" Gensai said.

As Naruto ran off into the forest, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel proud of that boy. "Are you going to train him in your style Gensai?"

"We'll soon see Jiraiya-sama, We'll soon see."

* * *

Authors Area - Alright, so how was this chapter really, I imagined the fight seen really well in my head but you know that its harder to put it in writing than imaging it. I decided to let Naruto know about Kyuubi earlier so I wouldnt have to think of another scene later on in the chapter. (It was easier to see from my point of view, less talking, more action, I know you love that right?) I got some more papers due and stuff so chapters WILL be up, just not as fast, I'm only one guy, Im not superman... kinda wish I was though but yeah leave some feedback and stuff. I welcome all reviews.

Techniques and their meanings.  
**Kage Bushin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique  
Kiri Gakure no Jutsu - Hidden Mist Technique  
Futon: Daitoppa - Wind Release - Great Breakthrough**  
**Doton Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** - **Inner Decapitation Technique**


	4. Trials By Fire

Authors Note: Happy Chinese New Year. Year of the Pig, may everyone be well so heres the next chapter as an early present.

I would like to take some time out here to thank the people for the reviews I gotten so far and answer some questions.  
To the people who left reviews with questions, I believed I have replied to them via Email but if not i'll answer them here.

Prim8 - You asked a great question which I'm sure people had the same question. You asked where this story is leaning towards. My answer is that this story is going to start taking shape in the next chapter. He's going to reappear back in Konoha after 3 years and that's where the story will actually begin. One final time skip leading the duo back to Konoha. These few chapters are like a prelude, leading up to the actual story. The plot is gonna be big and I hope I can put it into words. Thank you for the email and thanks for reading.

vnienhuis - Will Naruto be on Team 7? I believe so because I want to take Sasuke's ego down a step or two and the fight between them is always so cool. Someone mentioned that they wanted to see Sasuke get kicked where it hurts the most, so I might add some humor into that scene.

I think my writing changed in this chapter I'm not sure. Oh I decided on the pairings, I'm doing NarutoxOC but I promise in the next story, I'll do something else that you guys will vote for. You guys can vote for the pairings for this story now, It can be anything from KibaxHinata to TemarixShikamaru, I **will not** do **Yaoi** pairings due to the fact that I'm a guy and that thought really distrubs me. Sorry to the people who didn't want OC, don't let this keep you from reading my stories.

Did any of you notice who Gensai Kawakami was? I was just curious. Enough of my ranting, without further ado, heres the story and Review no jutsu!

* * *

Chapter 4: Trials By Fire

_2 months later_

"Naruto, your stance is still sloppy!" Gensai pointed out as he landed another hit on Naruto. The force of the thrust pushed Naruto back. Gensai stood his ground holding his hands out, palms up, daring Naruto to continue.

As Naruto got back up, he threw an upward kick to his sensei's face but Gensai merely sidestepped. Naruto saw an opening and twisted in mid-air, turned his missed kick around to throw a straight forward punch to his face. Gensai smirked as he grabbed the wrist and threw him to the ground.

"You know how to fight three men but I can teach you how to fight three hundred."

Naruto got back up and vanished in front of Gensai. He reappeared besides his sensei and threw a couple of enhanced punches towards Gensai's face. Gensai leaned back and dodged the punches by sliding his body with his right foot as his left was used as an anchor. He caught Naruto's last punch with an open palm, swirled the fist in a circular motion and used the momentum to send the boy flying into a tree.

"You know how to disappear, I can teach you how to be invisible."

Naruto jumped in the air, performing a hurricane kick towards Gensai but it was futile. Gensai stood there waiting for the move to come closer. As Naruto came closer, he crouched down and avoided the attack. Gensai came back up while avoiding Naruto's legs as he landed an upper cut with his right hand on Naruto, sending him up into the air. Gensai wasn't done there, he jumped along side Naruto and greeted him with a round house kick to the face, sending him face first into the dirt.

"Mind your surroundings and never show your emotions in a fight. Those are the rules that I want you to remember Naruto."

Naruto groaned in pain as he got back up slowly. "Hai sensei."

"Come on, one more time." Naruto stood up and stared at Gensai, analyzing the situation carefully. He smirked and disappeared.

'_I don't like that look on his face'_ His senses went on high alert. He felt danger all around him but he couldn't pinpoint the exact location. As his eyes were searching the area carefully, he caught sight of a blur that appeared and barely dodge the fast punch due to his reflexes.

Naruto threw another punch but Gensai was now aware of the blonde, He fought back with his own punches. Left, right, kick.. _'Wait, something is wrong with this picture, I'm not connecting my punches'_ Gensai suddenly realized the situation when he saw Naruto fighting back quite fluently and he had some difficulty defending. He was deep into observation that he missed a kick that got past his defenses and connected with his jaw, sending him back.

"You let your guard down sensei" Naruto looked at his sensei with a smile on his face.

"Expect the unexpected" Gensai replied chuckling. "Good Naruto good; do you know how you did that?"

"Um… not really, I just felt comfortable with my style and it just happened. My body responded accordingly to what you threw out and well, you got a kick to the face. It felt like I was swimming with no boundaries, nothing attached to me when I was fighting."

'_This kid keeps surprising me more and more everyday…'_ Gensai got up from the ground, dusting himself off. "Naruto, what you did now was combine what I taught you over these past couple of months into your own style. Those are the final steps of becoming a great taijutsu fighter."

"Really? YATTA!" Naruto jumped around the fields shouting out challenges to everyone.

Gensai winced at his student's action and hit him on the head. "Itaa…" whined Naruto. "Baka, here I thought you matured and then you go and do this." He glared at Naruto. "Like I said before you interrupted me, you still need to sharpen your skills because your still far from being great. Even I can still beat you if I went all out."

"Then lets continue so I can become even better sensei" smirked Naruto. "Or are you afraid I'll beat you.

"Hrmp, arrogant gaki, as you always say 'Lets rumble'", The two figures blurred out of sight and continued with their sparring session.

Jiraiya looked amused as he watched from the trees. _'He's going to be a great ninja one day but will he ready what the future holds?'_ He walked away thinking about the boy. _'Hmm… It's that time of day again, where the ladies come out and play'_ Jiraiya sported a lecherous grin on his face as he ran off to the town's hot springs.

_3 hours later_

'_Just… one… more… time' _Naruto tried to pull himself up from the ground unsuccessfully. He was lying flat on his back, too tired to get up. _'The clouds look nice today…'_ He gazed lazily up in the sky. _'No no, I gotta get up.'_ Naruto unwillingly got up and stared at the wooden log. He was already tired form his spar with Gensai-sensei and those routine exercises. He was suppose to be back at the village an hour ago but he wanted to finish his own exercises.

Naruto channeled some chakra into his legs and dashed up a tree, leaping off at the peak into the sky. He saw the beautiful scenery and analyzed his current position from the village to find out that he was about 15 km away. As he was falling back to the ground, he created a clone that grabbed his hand and threw himself towards the log. With a well placed kick, Naruto sent the log flying in the air and did some hand seals **Katon: Karyuu Endan**. Red hot fire came out of his mouth, burning the log into nothing more but black ashes.

Naruto dropped flat on his back after the attack, watching the ashes just being carried away by the wind. He found it hard to stay conscious after. _'Crap, I think I might have over done it…'_ before passing out.

'**_Tch, troublesome kid'_** a mysterious voice said.

It was early morning that Naruto woke up from a piercing scream. He pulled out a kunai and fell into a defensive stance. He looked around some more, analyzing the situation. _'Where am I?'_ Memories from last night appeared in Naruto's head as he recalled what happened after his training session. '_Oh that's right, I passed out'_ He then caught the scent of blood in the air, it was strong and fresh. '_Where is the smell coming from?'_

As Naruto proceeded to close his eyes to concentrate on his senses, he heard another scream coming from the direction in the left. He immediately rushed off in that direction. When he got there, the sight in front of him made his blood turn cold and his eyes widen. There were 5 bandits surrounding a group of people. He recognized the group as the mayor and his family from the nearby village that he was residing in. He had stopped by on several occasions and took a liking to the family.

Naruto's world crumbled as he saw the bloody messed that laid before him. Yamato Takeru, the mayor, was dead. He had several wounds all over his body and a huge gash across his chest. The wife and mother, Shizuka Takeru, was weeping over her fallen husband but was currently hiding her children behind her; trying to protect them from the same fate that has befallen for her husband.

As the remaining bandits approached the family, swords drawn and a nasty grin written all over their faces came closer to her. As the man standing over Shizuka raised his blade over his head and was about to bring it down to strike. Naruto shunshin from his spot and reappeared in front of the bandit as he brought the blade down. The bandits eye's expanded as he saw his blade stopped by a mere boy who looks no older than 7.

Naruto held the blade firmly in his hand, blood leaking out from the wound that the sword created. As the family opened their eyes, they saw somebody familar standing before them.

"Naruto-kun"

"Naruto-niisan"

Naruto turned his head and gave them a smile.

"It's going to be okay now, I'll protect you." He turned his head back and glared at the bandit that stood before him. "A hero eh? I hate hero types" He pulled the sword out and Naruto winced in pain as he felt the blade leave his hand.

"You touch them and I'll kill you" Naruto said coldly. The remaining bandits laughed but the one in front of him only smirked. "You got guts kid, talking to the leader like that. Unfortunately for you, you messed with the wrong person. Kill them now!"

"Teme…" growled Naruto. He analyzed the situation carefully. He was surrounded by 5 bandits who has weapons out. '_Definitely not my day'_

He pulled out a kunai and hoped that he would have enough chakra to protect everyone. He watched as the bandits started moving around them. He was shocked when he saw the bandits moving faster and faster until he couldn't keep up them individually anymore. '_Damn it, they're fast, I can barely keep up'_ His eyes still trying to keep up it them. '_Ah screw it'_ Naruto did some familiar hand seals and whispered **Kage Bushin no Jutsu**. 5 Naruto clones appeared besides Naruto and the family. "Tch, how troublesome, a ninja. Let it rain boys."

The leader smirked as bandits appeared from the sky, yelling out a cry as they brought their swords down on the people below. **Doton: Tsuchi Baria no Jutsu**. An earth shape barrier surrounded everyone around Naruto. He felt relieved that he pulled that one off. Metal met earth. The bandits were on the ground waiting, observing the enemy.

'_Well, if they won't come to me, I'll go to them, lets rumble.'_ He sent signals to his clones as they ran head on to attack the bandits.

"Kaa-san, are we going to be alright?" the boy looked at his mother with concerned eyes.

"We will be okay dear, Naruto-kun is doing his best to protect us."

"Yes, Naruto-kun will definitely save us, just you wait and see." and that is what they did.

Outside the earth barrier, Naruto wasn't fairing so well against these bandits. He had managed to knock 2 bandits unconscious but at the cost of the rest of his clones. He felt his body in pain as he tried to summon more chakra. '_Shouldn't have over done it last night'_ He mentally cursed himself for pushing it so far. At most, he would say he was less than thirty percent recovered from the extreme beating he received from Gensai.

**Katon: Gokakyu**. Naruto quickly jumped away when he heard the name of the jutsu. He noticed that the fireball was not aimed at him but where he once stood. '_The barrier, shit'_ Naruto quickly turned around to find a hole in his barrier.

'_These are not your average run of the mill bandits, I have to take them more seriously.'_ He saw the leader and another bandit standing far away smirking at him. _'What are they smirking at… wait, weren't there 3 bandits?'_ Naruto frantically searched for the last one. "Observant aren't we?" sneered the leader.

As Naruto continued searching, he heard a scream from behind him and turned around finding the last bandit holding Shinn hostage with his blade on his throat. Naruto felt so helpless. "Please stop, he's only a little boy." cried Naruto. He fell on his needs as he continued to plead with the bandit.

"That is the hero's problem. Unable to do what is necessary to get the job done. Kill him now!"

"Matte" cried both Naruto and Shizuka. The leader glared at Naruto. "Remember the name Shiro Shiji" as the bandit sliced the boy's throat.

Naruto's heart stopped beating, his blood ran cold as he screamed, dropping on his knees.

_Flashback _

"_Naruto-niisan, do you want to play ninja with me?" Shinn was following Naruto around the whole day annoying his new older brother._

"_No, now go away" replied Naruto dryly. It has been one week since Naruto started staying in this village and Shinn spotted him and his sensei in his fathers office one day when they asked for permission to stay for a little while in the village. Ever since that day when Shinn saw Naruto train, he admired his nii-san for being a ninja._

_Shinn continued to ask Naruto to play ninja whenever he saw him. Naruto was about to kick the boy until he realized he was probably looking for attention._

"_If I play with you once, will you leave me alone?"_

"_Really? You will play with me?" Shinn looked on with eager eyes. "Yeah, come on before change my mind" Naruto said as he walked away. Shinn gave a huge smile before chasing after his niisan._

_End Flashback_

That was the first time Naruto took a liking to the boy. He realized he saw Shinn as a little brother that he never had.

_Flashback_

_Just 3 days after Naruto and Jiraiya entered the village. Naruto was off exploring the village while Jiraiya was off collecting notes to finish his latest book. He walked around looking at the weapon shops and saw Shinn and a couple of kids that looked older than him outside the store._

_Shinn started crying as the boys continued teasing him. _

"_Mommy's little boy"_

"_Loser"_

"_Nerd"_

"_Get out of here loser, we don't play with wimps like you" The boy went as far as to push Shinn to the ground and was about to kick him but found him kicking air. He turned his head to see Naruto glaring at him coldly. "Naruto-niisan" Shinn looked up at Naruto._

"_Pick on Shinn again and I'll make sure you won't have anything to kick with." Naruto kept his eyes on the boy, almost like he was daring the boy to say something back. The boy stared crying, kicking and screaming as Naruto threw him to the ground. He immediately ran away with his friends chasing after him._

"_Are you okay Shinn" Shinn stopped crying as he wiped his tears away with his sleeves. "I'm fine now Naruto-niisan" Naruto looked at Shinn hesitantly before answering. "Um… do you want to play ninja Shinn?" Shinn looked up with a big smile, "Really niisan? You'll play with me?" _

"_Yeah…"_

_End Flashback_

It was that incident that caused Naruto to look after Shinn as more than a bundle of annoyance. All of these memories came flooding back to Naruto as he watch the lifeless body of Shinn Takeru lying on the ground.

"How could you, he was just an innocent boy!" cried Naruto slamming his fist on the ground. Tears were leaving his eyes as he was unable to control his emotions.

"It was pretty simple, you got in my way and someone had to pay the price" Shiro laughed. "Just like the old man"

"They were like family to me, he was a little brother to me…" Naruto started getting up, his eyes now showing red instead of crystal blue, pupils slit.

"You harmed the people that are precious to me and for that, I'll grant you a slow death." growled Naruto.

"I like to see you do something, _hero"_ snorted Shiro. Naruto let out a yell as red chakra started pouring out of him, engulfing Naruto and healing his wounds. Shiro was both amazed and scared for his life. The boy had chakra leaking out… to the amount that it was visible to the naked eye. '_How is this possible? A human eye can't see chakra like this. The kid's not normal'_ Shiro held out his sword in a defensive stance and stared at Naruto, waiting for him to make a move and hopefully, he would be able to survive. Naruto let out another inhuman roar and disappeared.

_Somewhere in the village_

Jiraiya was peeping into a local bathhouse when suddenly, he fell on his behind as some invisible force knocked him over. He had felt an intense chakra spike. _'Naruto'_. He got up and ran towards Naruto's location.

Gensai was drinking tea at a local tea shop when he felt a strong aura. '_Naruto? He must be in danger to release an aura this strong of a magnitude.'_ He dropped his cup and dashed off towards the location of that aura.

_Back in the forest_

Shiro was scared. The power this boy had was off the scales. Even though he couldn't follow the boy, he saw the blurred images that the boy left behind as he ran around them. Shiro signaled his men to come closer so they can have a formation of some sort. He saw his men walking back and then each of them fell to the ground as their heads rolled off and blood spraying everywhere. Now Shiro was beyond scared.

Naruto was moving faster than the human eye can track. He saw Shiro standing there shaking, holding his sword out like if it was a piece of meat. '_Teme, he'll regret crossing paths with me'_ He sped around Shiro and went in for the kill.

Shiro was currently looking for the real Naruto. He looked in shock when he saw Naruto in front of him with his hand piercing him through his chest. The pain took a few seconds before it reached his brain. "Arghh" Shiro let out a inhumanly cry. He now felt the pain of a hand going through his chest. The pain he felt was immeasurable.

"I promised you a slow death, so now you will receive one." Naruto stared into Shiro coldly. "Die"

"Not without you _Demon_" Shiro quickly formed some hand seals with his last breathe and smirked. **Bakuhatsu no Jutsu.** Naruto's eyes widen as Shiro finished the last hand seal and darkness engulfed him.

Jiraiya and Gensai quickly ran to the location, it was not difficult considering that Naruto was never the subtle one when trying to conceal himself. When they appeared at the battle ground, the sight they saw made their faces pale. There were dead bodies all over the place and some survivors. Jiraiya was searching for Naruto when he spotted a crater just a few meters away from everything else.

As Naruto regained consciousness, he opened his eyes slowly. "Ero-sennin?" He tried to sit up but found it difficult to do.

"Easy gaki, you're still hurt, I barely fixed you up" Naruto put a hand on his head, "How long have I been out?" "A good 2 hours."

Memories of the event came back to Naruto. "Ero-sennin, I killed him, I killed all of them. It's all my fault that they're dead. I couldn't save Shinn." Naruto slammed his fists to the ground, tears leaking out from his eyes. "If only I was stronger.."

"It's okay Naruto, it's okay." Jiraiya tried to calm the crying boy down. Naruto buried his head into his arms, crying.

"Naruto-kun" a feminine voice called out from behind him. Naruto picked his head up, eyes still filled with tears. He saw Shizuka Takeru standing in front of him. "Naruto-kun, It's okay, in fact, I want to thank you for what you have done for us today. If you didn't save us, we would have all died."

"No…NO! I couldn't save him, I'm sorry Shizuka-san." Naruto went back to looking at the ground, fresh tears were beginning to form in his eyes again. He looked up when he felt a pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Shh… It's okay now Naruto, you can let go now. You don't have to blame yourself for this, it is not your fault." Naruto stared into Shizuka's eyes, searching for the hatred that he thought she had but he found nothing. He instead found compassion and love. He felt another pair of arms around his waist and a head leaning on his back. "Hikaru-chan"

"Please don't blame yourself for this Naruto-kun." Shizuka stepped back for a moment before taking a look at the scene. She couldn't help but smile when she saw her daughter having her arms around Naruto. "Shinn-kun's happiest days was with you Naruto-kun, you gave him an older brother that he always wanted."

Naruto dried his eyes and turned to face Hikaru. "Really?" She looked into his eyes, feeling the sadness in him. "Hai Naruto-kun, Shinn is now in a better place with otou-san." Naruto put on a smile weakly. Jiraiya noticed his pupil's attempt in hiding his pain. '_The pain that this boy goes through is hidden being that happy, foolish mask he puts on for everyone. How much more can you go Naruto, before it cracks.'_

"They look cute don't they Shizuka" Shizuka turned her head to Jiraiya.

"Yeah… yeah they do…"

"I just thought of a new inspiration for my book!" Jiraiya immediately took out his notepad and pen.

"Young lovers… I can see it now" Shizuka clenched her fist together before glaring at Jiraiya.

"That better not be my daughter in your story Jiraiya-sama." Jiraiya paled at the killer intent being released by this female. '_What is up with these females and their strength'_

He put his notepad away before continuing. "I'm sorry for your loss Shizuka-san"

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama but my husband and son will never be forgotten, they will be able to rest in peace knowing that Hikaru and I are fine. Besides, I have a future to look forward to, I expect Naruto-kun to become a great man and not a pervert like you Jiraiya-sama." She yanked him up by his collar and looked threateningly into his eyes. "Is that clear?"

"Yes Shizuka-sama." Jiraiya felt weak on the knees knowing that this is another woman to add on to his list to never make angry again.

"Ero-sennin, Am I a killer like everyone says I am?" Jiraiya looked at Naruto as Shizuka dropped Jiraiya on his behind.

"Of course not, Killers are people who kill in cold blood and has no reason to justify their actions besides the usual 'I do it because I like blood'" Naruto turned his head to find Gensai leaning on a tree.

"You defended your precious people in time of need and if you weren't going to die, he was. When a person picks up a weapon, they signed a contract with fate knowing that one day, they will have to kill and die by the weapon." Gensai's words echoed through his head. He had experience his first kill protecting his precious people.

"You need to move on Naruto, mourning their deaths will only prevent you from moving forward. As long as you don't forget those that died, they will live on forever in your heart."

"Thank you Gensai-sensei…" Naruto tried standing up but fell on his knees. "Here Naruto-kun" Hikaru put her arms around Naruto's waist and giving him the support he needed to walk.

"Arigato Hikaru-chan" Hikaru found it hard to repress a blush that was appearing on her face.

"If you people here are done, I suggest we have a proper funeral for the mayor and his son." Gensai spoke up, clearly wanting to get out of the battlefield.

_A couple of days later_

Shizuka held a funeral service for her deceased son and husband. The entire village showed up to pay their respects to the mayor and his son. When Naruto showed up, placed a white rose on each of their graves. _'I promise you Yamato-san, Shinn, I will watch over your family and protect them no matter what.'_ He moved on as he finished his silent vow to the fallen ones. As he passed the other villagers, he could hear their whispers.

"Is that the kid who killed them?"

"I heard the remaining bandits scream out demon when they saw him."

"I think we should be careful of him."

'_It's just like Konoha again…" _Naruto stared at his feet as he continued walking away, away from everyone else.

_Next day _

"Ero-sennin, it's time to go" Naruto walked up to Jiraiya and grabbed his sensei while dragging him away from the hot springs. "Matte Naruto, I'm not done yet." Naruto looked at Gensai, "What are you going to do now Gensai-sensei?"

"Well, what do you think?" Naruto thought about what his sensei would do if he stayed in this village.

"Take over ero-sennin's place as the town's peeper?"

Gensai looked at him with annoyance and smacked him over the head. "Baka gaki!" He looked around seeing if anyone heard Naruto's comment. "No, I'm going to be travel with you. There has to be someone training you."

Naruto, for the first time since the deaths, gave a genuine smile. "Arigato sensei."

As the trio started walking out of the village, they heard some yelling from behind them.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" a voice shouted. Naruto turned around to be tackled to the ground by Hikaru.

"Oww Hikaru-chan? What are you doing here?" Naruto looked at the girl that sat on top of him. "Me and kaa-san wanted to say goodbye before you leave." Shizuka walked up to her daughter who sat on top of Naruto.

"Have a safe journey Naruto-kun."

"I will Shizuka-san, thank you for everything." Naruto tried getting up but found that Hikaru was not budging so he picked her up bridal style. Hikaru had felt her cheeks turning scarlet as Naruto picked her up.

"Um.. Naruto-kun, you can let me down now" Hikaru replied giggling before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for being there Naruto-kun." Naruto felt his own cheeks turning red from that kiss as he put her down.

"Way to go Naruto!" shouted Jiraiya with his pen and notepad out taking notes.

"If what you're doing is what I think it is, you'll be in for a world of pain ero-sennin." Naruto looked into Jiraiya's eyes as if he could see into his very soul. Jiraiya whimpered behind Gensai. _'What have I gotten myself into?' _Gensai found the situation to be funny if not for the fact that Jiraiya was holding on to his leg.

As the group exchanged final goodbyes, Hikaru went up to Naruto and gave him one last kiss on the cheek. "Be safe Naruto-kun and promise me that you'll stay in contact with me."

"I promise Hikaru-chan" Naruto touched the area of his cheek that Hikaru kissed.

"Ho ho ho, Nice one Ero gaki, You got some smooth moves with the ladies" Jiraiya laughing at the account of Naruto's embarrassment. "Remember our deal too Jiraiya-sama." Jiraiya paled at the comment from Shizuka. "Hai Shizuka-sama."

_3 days later and a good distance away from the village_

"Naruto… it is time to train you in the arts of kenjutsu." Naruto looked up from his training exercises to find Gensai with a wooden sword.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel that it is time for you to learn my style of swordsmanship. It will benefit you in the long run Naruto."

"Hai sensei"

"My style is known as the Shiranui-ryu and with your speed, you'll have no problem with it. Take hold of this bokken that you'll be using until I feel your ready to take hold of a real sword." The student and teacher began once again as they added a new training to his already packed training schedule.

_One year later, unknown location_

"Naruto, time is running out, you must go now!" Gensai stared at the opponent in front of him.

"No sensei, let me stay and help, I know I can help you" Naruto plead with his sensei.

"This is not your fight, have I taught you nothing? Live by the sword and die by the sword. That is the way of the sword."

"But sensei…"

"Enough Naruto, seek out the man Hiko Seijuro, who hides in the water when your ready." Gensai smiled at his student who has became a son to him over the past year. "I always imagined what my son would be if I had one Naruto, thank you for letting me be part of your life."

"Sensei…" Naruto lost consciousness as he was hit on the neck. "Jiraiya, take him and leave now, this is not your fight." Gensai threw his sword to Jiraiya who caught it with one hand. "When he wakes up, tell him I'm sorry."

"Always, you can count on me."

"If he turns out to be a pervert like you, I'll come back and haunt you." Gensai threatened Jiraiya as he turned around, waiting for them to leave. '_What is up with everyone and their thinking of me corrupting Naruto. I say the boy has a better future if he acted more like me.' _

"No problem old friend, it has been an honor." Jiraiya picked up Naruto along with the sword before taking off. He took one last look as the man who was feared as the Demon, the killer of a thousand people.

_A couple of hours later_

Naruto woke up, feeling sore as the pain shot up from his neck to his head. His hands went to massage his neck.

"I see your awake Naruto." a familiar voice said.

Naruto recognized the voice without turning around. "He's gone isn't he ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya detected a hint of sadness in his voice. "Yes but he won't be forgotten."

Naruto stared straight into the sky, the vast darkness that it held. _'Hope your doing well old man.'_

Naruto got up slowly, turning to look at Jiraiya. "Where are we going next Ero-sennin." The boy's eyes showed nothing but emptiness.

"Here Naruto" Jiraiya handed Naruto a sword. "He wanted you to have this…" Naruto held the sword with shaking hands.

'_This is your last gift to me Gensai-sensei, I won't let it go to waste. I will make you proud of me'_ Naruto tied the sword to his back, making sure it stayed in place and tested out how well it would be if he had to draw the sword in battle.

"Naruto, it's okay to feel sad and mourn over lost ones."

"I'm not crying Jiraiya-sensei. This is not the time to cry."

"For gods sake Naruto, your only human, we're suppose to feel emotions, stop hiding behind that mask of yours."

"I'm sorry but I cant. Not now. Not Ever." Jiraiya sighed as he only looked at Naruto. '_If you could only help your son Arashi…'  
_  
"Lets visit Umi no Kuni ero-sennin, I want to pick up some more jutsus."

'_Umi no Kuni, eh Naruto? You don't fool me for one second.'_ Jiraiya put his hand on his chin for a minute, "Hm… walking into the land of sea does sound fun, not to mention more research material."

Jiraiya walked up to Naruto and hit him across the head. "Baka, Gensai didn't die so you can just throw your life away. I know of this Hiko Seijuro he spoke about. I will take you to Hiko when I think your ready so stop rushing!"

Naruto held his head down "I know ero-sennin, I'm not trying to die here, I still have to take the title away from the old man before I do." Naruto gave Jiraiya a foxy smile. He noticed that the change in the boy's eyes, it show a fire burning, something he haven't seen since they left Konoha.

"Until I become Hokage, I will not die!"

Jiraiya smirked. "Okay gaki, we're going someplace else."

"Where ero-sennin"

"Kaminari no Kuni" Jiraiya pointed eastward as Naruto ran ahead. '_It's time to take care of some unfinished business, then it's time to head back to the place where it all began.'

* * *

_

Authors Area: I know I made references to several movies/anime but it was so fitting and COOL. Naruto's returning to Konoha at long last. What new things await him as he returned to a village that he hasnt seen for 5 years?

Okay Lets get the voting started for the next pairings. In this story, any other pairing besides NarutoxOC can be voted for. If they arent on the list, feel free to leave your choice of the pairings in the reviews. I'll post the winners soon.

Sakura x Lee  
Sakura x Sasuke  
Ino x Chouji  
Ino x Shikamaru  
Temari x Shikamaru  
Temari x Sasuke  
Hinata x Kiba  
Neji x Tenten  
Lee x Tenten

Some of the techniques, like Kage Bushin, is pretty much self explanatory so I won't be explaining it in future chapters but I will explain new ones.

Techniques List  
  
**Katon: Karyuu Endan** **no Jutsu **- **Fire Dragon Blast - The user inhales a breathe and releases a hot stream of fire at the target.  
Kage Bushin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone - Physical copies of the user.  
Doton: Tsuchi Baria no Jutsu - Earth Barrier - An earth shape barrier made from the ground to trap or protect.  
Bakuhatsu no Jutsu - Self Exploding Jutsu - The user channels chakra throughout their entire body, causing it to self destruct.**


	5. The Long Journey

Authors Note: I would like to thank all the people that has reviewed so far, reading your reviews are always a joy x3. I changed the summary so many times because its not quite what I want but its all good now because I think I will stick with this one.

Anyway, I received some votes I'll list them here. The pairings will keep go on for another chapters before I start some initial romance. If by chance there is an even pairing, I will flip a coin and decide.

The pairs that I found most interesting were Sasuke x Hinata and Sasuke x Tenten because they are like opposites of one another. I haven't seen those pairings much and wouldn't mind doing it if the vote wins. If you are wondering why there isn't Naruto x Whoever, I stated in previous chapters that this story will be a Naruto x OC. I'm sorry if its not your taste but I wanted to do something new.

Sasuke x Hinata 1  
Sakura x Lee 2  
Ino x Choji 2  
Temari x Shikamaru 4  
Neji x Tenten 2  
Hinata x Gaara  
Hinata x Kiba 1  
Sasuke x Sakura 1  
Sasuke x Tenten 1  
Shikamaru x Hinata 1

First off, I want to thank **ArmorOfGeddon** for pointing out a small error I did when I was typing it up. In my notes, I wanted to write Land of the Sea but when I was typing and researching, I typed up Land of the Waves, so thank you for pointing that out.

**kitsumebattojutsu** - First person to notice the historical references that I made in chapter 4, Naruto's sensei, Kawakami Gensai, is the historical person Kenshin Himura was based off and I also added in Kenshin's sensei because hes so cool xD. As for Rasengan and summoning, I won't say much but maybe after this chapter, you could let me know what you think? lol. No give aways.

**demon-sword** - thanks for also noticing the anime/movie moments, they felt right when I was writing up the chapter. There are just some quotes that I think are awesome. Everyone has their favorite quotes and just like me, I have mine xD

**animeflunky** - lol animeflunky, I will honestly say that your review brought a smile to my face and each time I read over your comment, I can help but laugh. I take it that your a Shinn Asuka fan? No hard feelings but I didn't like how they created his character in Gundam Seed Destiny. One emo kira was good enough, they killed it with another one.

**Stringer13** - bashing on those pair? -.- I will consider it since I like to incorporate some humor into my stories but it wont be MAJOR bashing, just slightly. The way that Sakura falls over heals for Sasuke in the beginning always made no sense to me.

All of you are probably wondering why I didn't describe Hikaru. Hikaru will be a minor character but will be a major in lets say in about 2 chapters. She will be given a description real soon so don't worry. Your author doesn't leave anyone out.

As to why it took so long to update, it was because of my proof-readers. My stories are becoming increasingly long but I dont think you guys are complaining much but I try to keep my stories to a min. of 6000 to 8000 words. I read my own chapters 3-4 times before they go off to my proof readers and once they finished reading it, the chapter gets read one more time with all the corrections and then it gets posted for you guys to read. I will try to update every 2 weeks if possible but hey, its college.

Thanks to all my reviewers and lets hope for the big 100 mark .

I will be redoing the earlier chapters (1-2 and maybe 3) because I feel that they aren't upto standards like my later ones. They will be rewritten within a WEEK. That I promise. Now no more from me, Onward to the STORY!

* * *

Chapter 5: The Long Journey 

_Somewhere near Kaminari no Kuni_

"Do you understand the mission?" The taller one asked as he leaped from tree to tree.

The shorter one, apparently leaping next to him but at a faster rate. He gave the taller one a glare. "Do you take me for an idiot?"

"Easy Naruto, I was just making sure." Jiraiya put his arms up in defense.

"You want me to pose as your bodyguard while your in the village for a business proposal. I'm sure I got it right the first time." He cocked his head to look at Jiraiya. Jiraiya missed the old shrimp blonde. He no longer saw the carefree, foolish boy that he started this journey with. He was replaced by a figure that stood in front of him. He saw that figure as an older boy that matured too fast for his own survival. He felt pity for the boy; no one should grow up so fast without first enjoying his or her childhood.

"To sum up the mission, We will basically do a quick in and out for my business here, be ready to leave at a moment's notice."

"Okay Ero-sennin. Don't stop by the hot springs then." Then again, maybe there was hope for him yet.

As they approached their destination, they saw the entrance to the village. "Okay, remember to be in henge."

Naruto quickly turned his head to Jiraiya. "Wait, what? You didn't tell me about being in a henge."

"Woops, it must have slipped my mind." Jiraiya let out a little snicker. Pieces of white hair started falling from Jiraiya's head. He saw Naruto smirking at him, his hands on his sword, before realizing what happen. Naruto drew the sword, cut a few pieces of his hair, and sheathed the blade within a blink of an eye. _'Fast, even I didn't catch him drawing the blade'_ He noticed more hair falling down. "AHH my hair!!" Jiraiya put his hands to his head, touching his hair, making sure he wasn't bald anywhere.

"Sorry, my sword skills were getting rusty, I think it wants to be released more often Ero-sennin." Jiraiya paled at the comment. Naruto had no idea what that sword was capable of and he was sure as hell not going to let him know now. The sword that Naruto had in his possession was called the Tenro. It was a special Muramasa that differs from other swords. Jiraiya knew the story behind the sword. It was said that the sword actually turned red because of all the bloodshed it been through. The owner of the sword was nicknamed "The Demon" because in a single battle, he killed; no, it was more like a massacre, of a thousand men. The sword became red due to all the blood that it drank from the massacre. Jiraiya would have laughed at the story if it wasn't for Gensai and his live demonstration.

_Flashback_

_"So Gensai, what is so special about that sword of yours?" Jiraiya looked at the sword curiously. He had seen the man carry it but never used it in his training with Naruto._

_"This sword Jiraiya-san is a special sword. There is only a few left in this world because they are all too dangerous to remain in the hands of humans. I call this sword Tenro and to be honest, I can't control this sword that well anymore."_

_"Can't control an inanimate object? What kind of swordsman are you then?" Jiraiya poked the sword with his finger before laughing some more. He continued laughing until Gensai let out a little aura stopped his laughing at once._

_"Don't mock this sword Jiraiya-san, it has a special property which is unique to itself and once release, it will have some very devastating powers." Jiraiya had a skeptical look on his face showing that he did not quite believe his fairy tale._

_"Less talk and more action then."_

_"Follow me and all will be clear to you." Gensai pointed to an area and motioned for Jiraiya to follow. _

_Jiraiya followed Gensai to an area with a huge boulder. "Can it cut through a boulder of that size without breaking the blade?" Jiraiya measured the boulder to be about six feet tall and three feet wide, and very thick._

_"Never underestimate a true swordsman, now don't blink or you might miss it." As Gensai reached for the handle of the sword, he closed his eyes and concentrated. With a lightning fast draw, the sword slashed the huge boulder and as quickly as it was released, it went back into the scabbard once again._

_'So that is the speed of the legendary Shiranui-ryu.' Jiraiya barely followed the sword strikes as it tried to cut the boulder. He walked up to the rock to examine it. "It looks like you didn't even chip it." Gensai let out a little smile as the rock split into 4 pieces when Jiraiya touched it. 'I only saw one strike, but it was clearly two. He is truly a master.'_

_"Now do you see Jiraiya-san? This sword will cut through anything if the wielder's will is strong and able."_

_"My Rasengan would have done the same thing." Jiraiya mumbled as he stared at the rock, trying to look unimpressed. As Gensai proceeded to take the sword out once more, Jiraiya had a surprised look on his face._

_"Why is turning red? Swords are not supposed to be red." The sword was no longer clear steel like color; it was turning red, blood red._

_"This sword has a special property. Do you recall the Battle of Sekigahara?" The Battle of Sekigahara was the bloodiest battle in all of the shinobi wars. There were rumors that a single man, who turned the battle into a massacre, killed over one thousand men by himself._

_"I vaguely remember the details but I remember that a single man turned the tide and allowed Kusagakure no Sato to win a decisive battle." Jiraiya noticed Gensai swinging the blade around for a second before realizing something. "That man was you wasn't it?" He looked at Gensai with curious eyes._

_"Hai, I am the one who they call Demon." Gensai put the sword away before continuing. "The Tenro is a sword of both darkness and light. It drank the blood of those men that I killed and it turned red after the battle. Even to this day, I have yet to figure out why. The sword reacts differently based on the wielder's nature. If the wielder has a dark soul, it will bring brought destruction where as if it was a gentle soul, it will bring forth harmony." Jiraiya nodded his head, trying to understanding the information given to him._

_End Flashback_

"Lets not be hasty here Naruto." Jiraiya mentally kicked himself for not telling Naruto the entire truth about the sword's past.

"Give me a good reason why I should be in henge Ero-sennin."

"Well…"

"It better be the right one for once." Naruto interrupted as he put the sword away. Jiraiya pondered for a moment before deciding on how he wanted Naruto to understand the situation.

"Well you know that Konoha and the Cloud are not exactly on great terms right?"

"Yeah so what? It has nothing to do with me. I'm not a ninja for _that_ village." Naruto said coldly. Jiraiya could feel the hatred in his voice.

'_Konoha's own crime will one day be its downfall.'_ Jiraiya was feeling more and more resentment towards the village for the actions committed against the boy. "Even still Naruto, have you seen your reflection lately?"

"Not really, I don't consider myself conceited like you Ero-sennin." Naruto gave a little smirk to Jiraiya as he exploded in anger.

"Stop insulting me gaki! Just take out your sword so you can tell me what you see." As Naruto proceeded to unsheathe the sword, Jiraiya backed away, about two feet to be exact. He didn't want his hair to be butchered even further if Naruto goes berserk. Naruto stared at his reflection for a while. _'Maybe it's my hair; I haven't trimmed it in a while. It can't be my whisker marks on each of my cheeks, they don't disappear.'_

Jiraiya stared at his apprentice as he saw him still looking at his reflection. '_I have never met anyone that dense before'_ Jiraiya couldn't take much more of this stupidity. "You're a splitting image of the Yondaime gaki!" Naruto now realizing the similarities and was shocked beyond anything. '_Me…? Their precious demon that looks like the strongest Hokage in history?'_

Jiraiya still two feet away, saw the kid trying to comprehend the information given to him. '_You're an exact copy of Arashi Naruto, just a mini version of him. No wonder you're his son, the similarities are remarkable.'_

"Even though I look like a splitting image of their precious Yondaime, they still manage to screw me over." Naruto started chuckling while shaking his head in disappointment.

"No no wait, it's not like that Naruto." Jiraiya tried to reason with the boy before he jumped into some hasty conclusions. The boy didn't need it any harder then it already is. "The Yondaime has accomplished many great things in his life time, from winning the second great shinobi war for us to sealing the mighty Kyuubi."

"So what you're saying is that because we're in enemy territory and I'm a look alike of the Yondaime, I could raise some problems for us while we're in there." Naruto looked at his sensei with sad eyes; emotions that he swore to never show were starting to come out.

Jiraiya, the Legendary Toad Sannin was rendered speechless. Here was a boy no older than eight who by regular standards should know math and history but instead of knowing the standards, he knew the reality of life and the harshness that life has to offer. He knew the meaning of being a true ninja. The boy was growing up way to fast, if there was only some way to show him how to enjoy life to its fullest.

"Correct Naruto, which is the reason why I wanted you to be in henge, it would save us some trouble in the long run." Jiraiya came out of his shock, smiling at the boy.

"Fine"

"What no smart insult? What have you done with Naruto?" Jiraiya was getting scared; it was un-Naruto like to not insult him.

"We all have to grow up some time Ero-sennin." Naruto held up a single hand seal and concentrated some chakra before he henged. Instead of a blonde hair boy, there was now a young man that had striking similarities to the Yondaime but with messy, untamed black hair and his eyes were not crystal blue, it was red. Naruto was wearing a black with white strips t-shirt with black pants that had a weapon holster on the right side. He had his sword tied to his back instead on his side. "Will this do?" Jiraiya glanced over Naruto for a split second before giving his approval.

"Okay, let's go. Do not under any circumstances draw attention to yourself."

Naruto nodded his head in compliance. "Hai"

_Outside the gate_

The pair was greeted outside by a couple of ninjas that appeared to be chunnins from the looks of their clothes.

"Welcome to Kaminari no Kuni. Before you are allowed into the village, we need to check your group for anything suspicious or dangerous that could endanger the welfare of the village." The guards looked at Naruto with leery eyes.

"Why are you looking at me for? Do I look suspicious to you? We're travelers, not your enemies."

The guards cowered under his icy glare, wanting nothing more than to run away and never to be seen again. "It's part of the procedure sir." A brave guard spoke up, looking towards the white hair man for help. Jiraiya took pity on them. No one could stop the blonde when he's mad. Jiraiya shot Naruto a look that told him to calm down.

"Maa Naruto, their only doing their job." Naruto relaxed for a bit and bowed his head in apology.

"Sorry for my behavior sir, please continue on with your check." The guards nodded in acceptance and took out his checklist.

"Okay, what is your purpose here in Kaminari no Kuni?" Jiraiya spoke up before Naruto had a chance to speak.

"We're here on business to talk to the owners of the hot springs about considering expansion." Naruto looked at Jiraiya with disbelief. '_There is no way he will believe us'_

"Really? It's about time; we need more than one of those around here." The taller of the guard hugged Jiraiya.

"Don't worry boy, you can count on me to get the job done!" Jiraiya flashed him a reassuring grin and gave his thumbs up in appreciation. Naruto smacked his head in disbelief. '_Are all men just perverts?'_ He shuddered at the thought.

"Any weapons?" The other guard who was not hugging Jiraiya came to his senses to continue with his job. Naruto took out his weapons to show him.

"Just the basic kunai and sword on my back." The shorter guard looked over the sword carefully before acknowledging the sword.

"Okay, everything looks in order and I hope it goes well with your business sir." The man looked to Jiraiya with hope in his eyes. Jiraiya stopped to search his backpack before finding an orange book. He tossed it to the guard who hugged him before walking into the village. "New release, look for it being in the market next month." The guard's eyes just widen and immediately bowed his head to thank the gods for the holy book.

"What did you give him?" Naruto looked behind him with interest.

"My greatest work yet, Icha Icha Paradise Volume 6!" He struck a pose, attracting people around them.

"Please, it's just a pervert book, let's get going before we attract more attention Ero-sennin." Naruto dragged Jiraiya away to find a hotel room.

_Hotel Room_

"Okay, we're in the village. Now remember, whatever you do, do not get caught." Naruto looked to the older man with a smirk on his face.

"For me or for your peeping adventure."

"Hn, don't get smart with me, just be careful and stay in henge alright?" Naruto opened the door and started walking out.

"Hey gaki, The henge! Remember to keep it up." Jiraiya yelled to Naruto who only waved his hand as a response. "Kid is going to give me some gray hair soon."

_At a mansion_

"Araki-Sama" Araki looked up from her cup of tea to see her maid.

"What is it Umi"

"My sources inform me that there is someone that looks like the Yellow Flash walking around the forest in a genjutsu. I couldn't get close enough without drawing attention to myself."

"Thank you Umi, you did well today." Umi bowed her head and left the room. '_So the rumors of your death were greatly exaggerated. I shall have my revenge soon.'_ Araki got up and walked to a picture. "I will avenge your death today Atobe." She bowed her head one last time before leaving the room.

_In the forest_

'_I'm far enough from people now, I guess I can release the henge and train some more.'_ Naruto undid the henge and created several Kage Bushins. "Okay guys; let's get a good workout today!"

"Yosh!" The clones charged in against Naruto. He smirked and slipped into a familiar taijutsu stance.

_Somewhere in the village_

"Well, we meet once again Jiraiya-san, How long as it been? 8 years? 10?" Jiraiya looked at the older man. "It's been 10 years Takashi-san" Jiraiya bowed his head to greet the older man.

"I take it that this isn't a social call?"

"Afraid not, the longer I stay here, the sooner I'm bound to be discovered, I have come for _it_." The older man had a small twinkle in his eyes before getting up and fulfilling his request.

_In the forest_

**Shiranui-ryu: Tsuchi Batsu.** Naruto impaled his sword into the ground and swung upward, sending forth a wave of rocks and dirt towards his clones. They disappeared as the attacks connected. He picked up his sword and closed his eyes.

"I know you're there, it is rude to spy on someone without their permission." A kunai flew straight for Naruto. He heard the projectile come towards him and opened his eyes. He tilted his sword so it was at an angle to knock the kunai away. As the kunai came closer, it multiplied into twenty and he hastily jumped behind a nearby rock.

'_Kage Kunai no Jutsu' _Naruto looked around to see where the kunai came from but before he could locate the location, a figure appeared in front of Naruto and threw a punch that connected with Naruto's face, sending him through the rock and into a tree.

As he slowly got up from the ground, he noticed that his attacker was a woman with long brunette hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in a red silk Chinese outfit. It was a two-piece outfit that covered her body nicely, showing her curves and it was a perfect fit.

"Who the hell are you lady? Don't you know it's rude to attack a little kid?" He stared at the opponent in front of him.

"I'm surprise that you don't remember me Yellow Flash."

"Yellow Flash? I think you got the wrong person lady…" Before Naruto got to finish that sentence, she appeared in front of him with her fist slammed into Naruto's stomach. He backed away, one hand holding his stomach and one hand on his sword. He kept his eyes fixed on the lady in front of him.

"My name is Araki Tenjin, it would best for you to remember the person that will kill you. Today, you will pay for your crimes!" She disappeared from Naruto's sight. Naruto took this risky chance to take some sleep deep breathes before continuing. He heard some movement from behind him and jumped away to find a kick that barely missed him. He found a small grin on her face before it disappeared in smoke. '_Bushin?'_ He quickly turned around to find her charging at him with her fist glowing in a white color. '_Oh Shit, not my day'_ He rose both of his arms and his sword against his chest and braced for impact. The force of the punch sent him through another tree. As Naruto got up, he felt his arms being on fire before he felt shocks all over his body. "Ahh..." Naruto was feeling electrical shocks all over his body. **Tenrai Tekken** "How did you like my electrical fist?" Akira smirked at him.

As Naruto picked himself up slowly, he had a seriously look on his face. "That's it lady, its on now!" He quickly took off his weights, dropping them to the ground, creating a small dent. He placed the sword back on his back before continuing. He flashed through the familiar hand seals and cried **Kage Bushin no Jutsu**. Five Narutos appear besides the original.

"Let me teach you some manners!" The group charged forward towards Araki who stood there with an amused look on her face. "You think the 6 of you can take me? You're skills have greatly diminished over the years."

Naruto kept charging forward without any emotion. **Katon: Karyuu Endan.** Araki turned around to see a fire dragon coming towards her. _'How did a clone sneak behind me?'_ She held her hand out and stopped the attack from coming closer. The dragon was trying to charge forward but somehow, she was stopping the attack with just her left hand. Naruto looked in amazement as he saw her controlling his dragon and keeping it from exploding at the same time.

"Pathetic, I thought you were stronger than this." She kept her eyes on the dragon while at the same time, she could still see Naruto from the corner of her eye. **Doton: Doryudan. **She turned her head to see bullets of dirt flying towards her. As she proceeds to raise her right hand, she heard something else being cried out. **Suiton: Suiryudan.** She was surprised that the clones could also produce jutsus. As the elemental dragons came closer, a loud explosion erupted from the battlefield showing that they all exploded around her.

Naruto dispelled the other clones while panting for air. "Nice Try." He looked at the mess that his dragons created. Dust and debris were still floating in the air.

As he started walking away from the field when he heard a voice. "You don't think that was enough to get me do you?" He immediately turned around to see her walking up from the crater, unscratched.

"What, how is that possible?" Naruto stared at her, noticing that she had no scratches on her body or outfit.

"This is my bloodline limit, Zettaiteki Baria. I am able to create a barrier around me that will grant me the absolute control of ninjutsus aimed at me while at the same time, protecting me from the effects." Naruto stared in disbelief. He held up his hands to craft a familiar seal to go another round with her. Three clones appear; each holding onto their Tenro stood facing her.

Araki looked with confusion on her face. "When ever did you get a sword, I can't imagine you with that." Naruto growled. It was one thing to call him weak but mock his sensei's sword was the final draw.

"I want you to get this straight before I kill you, I am not the Yellow Flash, whatever that is, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I will show you why you should fear me."

**Shiranui-ryu: Byakko.** Naruto charged forward swinging his sword at a low angle, producing a mirror image. Araki held out a kunai and stopped the real sword blade, with the tip of the kunai. Naruto looked surprised when he couldn't push forward and cut it into pieces. She kicked him hard in the stomach, dispelling the clone.

**Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Mizuchi.** Araki found another clone charging towards her with the blade turned sideways. He ran towards her trying to slash her but she parries the first strike and threw her kunai at his heart, dispelling the clone. "Good try but not good enough."

She turned around to confront the original Naruto but found that her body was not responding to her will. **Kanashibari no Jutsu** success. She cursed herself for leaving herself open.

Naruto walked up to her, holding out the Tenro. "Now before I end your life, tell me why your out to kill me?" Araki gave a little smirk before disappearing into smoke.

"Arrogant little boy, even if your not the Yellow Flash, your still years too early to fight me evenly." Naruto looked around trying to find where she went. '_Damn bushin, I don't even know when she created it.'_

**Raijin Morien no Jutsu**. The entire area was suddenly filled with lightning bolts, each striking the area before coming together to form a huge lightning bolt, aimed straight for Naruto. "Arghh" Naruto screamed out in pain. He gritted his teeth, trying to fight off the electricity. '_Must endure it…'_ He couldn't hold out much longer before dropping to his knees, feeling drained and weak. Araki appeared next to him.

"Ironic, this was how my husband died, now you'll die the same way!"

'_I always figured the person who will kill me would be someone who hates me…' _Naruto closed his eyes; his energy leaving him drained and couldn't keep focus much longer.

_Inside the mind_

'_Where am I?' _Naruto looked around; surely, this wasn't what heaven looks like.

"I must be dead." He walked around the dark area, filled with water all over the ground. There were so many paths to take, as if he was lost in a maze. He subconsciously walked around, almost as he knew where he was supposed to go. As he made a left turn, he ended up in a big area with a huge cage that stood before him.

**"Are you not afraid of death boy?"** A deep mysterious voice called out. Naruto started at the big red eyes in front of him before answering.

"Death has been a faithful companion of mine. I have no reason to fear it." He stared more into the cage. He could make out of what looked like a great red beast.

**"Boy do you know who I am?"** Naruto shook his head.

**"Come closer and see."** As Naruto approached the cage, huge claws shot out and aimed straight for Naruto. He stood there as the claws stopped short from piercing his skull. Naruto stood there, unfazed by the actions of the beast.

**"So you were telling the truth boy. I am the great Kyuubi no Yoki."** Naruto only nodded in acknowledgement.

"So you're the demon I have in me, I'm sorry it had to end this way."

**"It doesn't have to be boy"** Naruto looked at him with confusion. **"All you have to do is ask for my help. I like you boy. Ask and you shall receive."**

Naruto shook his head. "I lost control last time when you lent me help."

**"No, you forcefully took it from me that time boy."** Naruto looked more confused.

**"There is a reason why you lost control. You never met with me before. Taking chakra from a demon before there is an agreement between vessel and demon will always result in something negative."** Naruto had an interesting look on his face. It showed a mixture of curiously and shock. **"Don't mistake me for a saint boy, if I had the chance, I will kill you but lucky for you, these bars prevent me from doing so."**

"Then do it, a lot of people wants to see me dead anyway. One more will make no difference." Naruto looked straight into the eyes of the fox.

**"I like you boy, I will lend you my chakra as part of our now standing agreement. Train yourself so you won't be a weak vessel and I'll supply you with chakra. How does that sound?"**

"Weak vessel? Go to hell fox, I'll prove you wrong, just keep watching." Naruto gave the fox a smirk before acknowledging the verbal agreement.

**"Haha pitiful human, you're interesting vessel. Now get out and prove your worth. I will be watching you boy."**

_Back outside_

As Araki was about to bring the kunai down, Naruto caught the kunai with his hand before it reached his head. Araki tried with all her strength to push it down but she couldn't even move it against the boy. "What the hell, you lost your will to live just a second ago."

Naruto looked up, blue eyes now turning red. "Don't look down on me!" Red chakra blasted out from Naruto, causing Araki to let go of the kunai and jumping away from Naruto. '_This chakra, its unnatural. How can a boy his age have such a strange chakra?'_

"Your not the Yellow Flash, he wouldn't have this chakra in him." Araki stared at the boy, trying to find out what is going on.

Naruto turned around, his bruises already healing and the red chakra surrounding him took a shape that resembled a fox. He disappeared from her sight within a blink of an eye and landed a hard punch to her stomach. Araki coughed up blood from the impact and was about to jump back when a hand caught her wrist, preventing her from fleeing.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I am your executioner!" Naruto released her wrist and landed another hard blow to her stomach then sent a kick to her chin, sending her soaring towards the sky as he flipped over, and took out his sword. While Araki was falling back down to the ground, Naruto had his sword ready to execute one of his favorite moves.

Araki watched Naruto from the corners of her eyes, saw the stance that Naruto slipped into. '_This kid is nothing but normal. Just who is he?'_ As she was falling back to the ground, Naruto charged at her. **Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku**

Araki saw an image of a phoenix with its claws coming towards her. She closed her eyes as she received cuts all over her body and felt most of her energy leaving her body.

"Can you feel the immortality of the phoenix?" She barely heard Naruto's whisper while she was struggling to remain conscious. She was savoring the last peaceful moments before joining her loved ones. She known she had mistakes in her lifetime and if she had a second chance, she would do everything in her powers to change it.

As Naruto prepared for the final strike, he heard some movement. Someone was coming towards the area at a fast pace and he heard chakra spinning like a wild windstorm. He narrowed his eyes for a bit to get a good look around.

"Rasengan"

Naruto jumped back in surprise. The attack left a big crater on the floor. As the smoked clear, he held on to his sword, waiting for the attack but when none came, he carefully approached the crater. He saw a familiar figure sitting besides Araki.

"What are you doing here?" Jiraiya looked up to see Naruto with a faint red glow surrounding him.

"You were going to kill her in cold blood weren't you?" He knew the answer but needed to make sure.

"Yes" Naruto showed no emotion, just an empty coldness like an assassin.

"I can't let you kill her."

"What makes you so sure that you can stop me? She started this fight with the intention of killing me. It should only be fair that she dies when she failed to achieve her objective." Naruto walked towards Jiraiya and the beaten Araki with his sword on his shoulder.

"I'll teach you a rank A jutsu if you spare her." That caught Naruto's attention.

"Bargaining for her life now? Very unlike you Ero-sennin" Jiraiya kept his calm demeanor. "Whatever, just don't go back on your word." He glared at Jiraiya, remembering the times when he twisted his words around.

"I swear on my books Naruto." Naruto thought about this for a second. '_I guess he's speaking truthfully. He really loves those books.'_ He nodded his head to accept the terms.

"What is so important that you won't let me kill her?" Jiraiya let out a small grin. "She's going to be your teacher Naruto."

"What?!" A loud scream was heard throughout the area.

Jiraiya had his hands over his years, "Are my ears bleeding gaki?" Silence occurs between the pair. Jiraiya looked at Naruto and noticed the empty look. An idea came into his head. He waved his hand in front of Naruto to make sure he was out of it. Noticing that his student wasn't home, he whispered something into his ear. "Isn't that Hikaru over there in a stunning swimsuit?"

"Where? Where?" Naruto jumped around looking for her.

"Aren't you the Ero-gaki now boy. You went from nobody home to someone who wanted some good company in a split second." Jiraiya was clutching his stomach in pain from laughing too hard. His laughter was abruptly stopped when he noticed more hair falling down. "My precious hair!!" He looked up to see Naruto putting away the Tenro. "Ero-gaki, why did you do that for!"

Naruto tried to hide his dirty thoughts about Hikaru but failed miserably as the blush gave him away. "Er… nothing, shouldn't we move her back home?"

Jiraiya scratched his head before deciding. "I guess so."

_3 hours later at the mansion_

Araki woke up to the sounds of constant arguments.

"No I refuse."

"Gaki, come on, it'll be good for you."

"No."

Araki didn't recognize the first voice but the second one seemed familiar to her. "Please quiet down, you will wake the mistress."

"Its okay Umi." A voice from the other side replied. The door opened and Araki stepped out. She looked at her unexpected visitors before walking over to them. She took her place at the table where her guests were currently sitting.

"Here you go mistress" Umi handed her a cup of tea before leaving the room. "I suppose I was defeated." She looked at Naruto. "You look kind of weak to be the Yellow Flash."

"I have a name you know. Its Naruto Uzumaki and this weakling kid wiped the floor with you and I won't hesitate for a second to kill you if you don't show me some respect." He gave her one of his infamous cold glares.

Araki felt shivers all over her body from his firm tone. She knew he could and will kill her without a second thought. _'A child so young has already stained his hands with human blood.'_

"Ahem Naruto, watch your tone." Naruto gave Jiraiya a look that had "I don't give a shit" all over it. Jiraiya sighed. "Araki, it has been a while."

Araki looked over to the familiar voice. "Jiraiya-san. It has truly been a long time." She bowed her head in respect.

"Haha, no need to be so formal." He scratched the back of his head, then giving her a serious look. "How does it feel to finally let go?"

Araki was caught off guard from the question. She stood up and faced a picture, tears forming in her eyes.

"It feels that a burden has been lifted off my shoulders but yet I feel like I have accomplished nothing." Araki closed her eyes for a bit, feeling the pain of her suffering finally letting go. She opened her eyes and looked towards Naruto who was sitting at a corner meditating. "So whose the Yondaime look alike?"

"Him?" Jiraiya pointed at Naruto. "That's Naruto Uzumaki, he's _him_." Araki raised her eyebrow before realizing what Jiraiya was talking about. She started laughing after understanding the news.

"Haha, no wonder he beat me."

"Your just weak." Naruto's voice spoke up. Araki and Jiraiya turned around to see Naruto still meditating yet listening to their conversation. "Can we leave now? I think our business here is done."

"Not yet. Give me a moment" Jiraiya turned around to face Araki. "The reason why I'm here today is to ask you for a favor." Araki sat back down, thinking about what his favor could be.

"I will train the boy for you."

"You knew about it didn't you?"

"I may not have liked what Arashi did but we were friends. I will honor this last request on his behalf."

Jiraiya bowed his head. "Thank you Araki" Jiraiya got up and walked towards the door. Naruto got up from his spot and started to follow him. "No Naruto, your staying here."

"Why, incase you didn't notice, she tried to kill me."

"Everyone has a reason for their actions Naruto, she won't do it again. I promise." Naruto relaxed a bit from Jiraiya's tone.

"Fine, how long am I going to be staying here?"

"Long enough for you to learn from her and this jutsu I promised." Jiraiya took a scroll from his pouch and handed it to Naruto. The name "Rasengan" was on the scroll.

"Thanks Ero-sennin." Araki let out a small giggle.

"Baka gaki, I told you not to call me that in public. You could have called me Jiraiya-sensei, The Gama-Sannin, The Legendary Romeo, anything would have been better than that."

"Ero-sennin is good enough for you" Araki couldn't help but giggle at this scene. She found it to be quite familiar from some another scene that happened a couple of years back when she was younger.

"Well I'm going Naruto. Try not to kill her and keep an open mind." Naruto nodded as he watched his sensei disappear. Araki walked up to Naruto who was outside looking at the scenary.

"I know you don't trust me and I know it will take some time but why don't we start off as friends."

Naruto looked at Araki. She had a sincere look on her face. She was no longer in her Chinese outfit. She was wearing an elegant blue kimono with pink cherry blossoms designed on it. Her hair was tied up in a bun with a fancy pin holding it in place. Naruto could have swore that she was a princess if he didn't witness her trying to kill him.

"Hai, we'll give this a try." Naruto continued looking at the sunset.

"My name is Araki Tenjin, the leader of the denkou clan. We specialize in Raiton and stealth techniques. Glad to meet you." Araki held out her hand, showing that she was willing to take the first step in starting over.

Naruto gave her a smile before answering. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage." Araki found his introduction to be quite familiar was well. _'His introduction was almost exactly like yours Arashi.'_ She gracefully shook his hand and they continued to stare at the sunset, enjoying the silence but also feeling comfortable in each other's presence.

_Elsewhere_

'_This will be a good experience for you Naruto, in terms of learning and socializing.'_ Jiraiya walked away from the village thinking. "Ho ho, What's this? Research!" He spotted a hot spring as he was leaving town.

_3 years later_

"Home at last!" A loud voice echoed throughout the Konoha Forest. The elder man only grinned. This was expected from a boy who hasn't been home for 6 years. "Ne Ero-sensei, I hope they changed." Naruto looked around slowly. He didn't want to come back to a place where he was hated. He liked his time with Araki nee-chan. At least over there, he had a real family.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure they changed. We have to first enter the village before we make any decisions." Jiraiya hated himself for bringing him back to the village but it was necessary to fulfill the promise he made to the old man. As they approached the entrance. Jiraiya looked over to see how Naruto was holding up. _'You can't get rid of fear that easily without physically conquering it. At least your taking the first step in becoming a true man Naruto.'_

He smiled at how Naruto changed through the years. From the bright orange jumpsuit boy to the young teen he sees before him. Naruto has changed considerably over the years. He was about five foot one, lean and tone muscles over his body from his constant workouts. His hair is still wild, untamed blonde. His baby fat was no longer visible, his birthmarks were still there, it gave Naruto the rugged effect. He was now wearing a light blue t-shirt with the denkou clan symbol on the back. He was still sporting black pants with bandages wrapped around his left leg. His weapon holster was on his right side.

"Stop, who goes there?" A pair of new chunnins were stationed at the gate.

"Do you not recognize the Great Toad Sannin Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya did his little dance introduction. The chunnins immediately recognized him after his demonstration. "Our apologies Jiraiya-sama."

The chunnins looked to the other one traveling with Jiraiya. '_Hmm… whisker marks on his cheeks, there's something familiar about him… It's the demon!'_ Both of the chunnins arrived at the same thought. They jumped back and was about to reach for their weapons when Jiraiya stood in front of them.

"What do you think your doing!" The chunnin on the right step forward carefully. "We're going to kill the demon and stop him from entering the village."

"Demon? Where?" Naruto looked around stupidly and acted like he didn't know what they were talking about.

"Don't play around with us _demon_" As the guards rushed forward, Naruto vanished into thin air, causing them to stick their kunais into nothing but air. Their eyes quickly searching around for where the demon could have gone.

"I kill trash like you for a living." Naruto had his arms around the chunnins, each hand holding a kunai at their throats. They were too stunned to move.

"Jiraiya-sama… help us please." The chunnins were looking towards Jiraiya with pleading eyes, asking him to save them from the demon.

Jiraiya smirked as he walked up to the guards. Naruto felt the guards relaxing a bit as Jiraiya walked up to them.

"Heh, you'll be dead before he gets here."

"You'll be dead soon demon."

The guards smiled as Jiraiya pulled his fist back, thinking he was going to save them but instead, they were greeted by his fist. The guards were sent crashing into the guard station, breaking it into pieces.

Naruto stared at the fallen guards. "Guess they still resent me Ero-sensei. It was a mistake coming back here."

"Naruto forget them, we have to see the old man." Naruto nodded his head as he walked with Jiraiya to the Hokage Tower.

_'So he is finally back home.'_ A mysterious figure stood watch as he saw the scene with the idiotic guards unfold. _'Things can finally get back to normal.'_ The figure disappeared into the wind, leaving nothing but leaves in its place, to be blown away by the wind.

* * *

Authors Note: So what did you guys think of this chapter. The fight scene was kind of hard to write but I managed. Lets hope for a great homecoming for Naruto. I look forward to your reviews so dont be shy, I won't bite. Now I have a serious question. Do you guys want Sarutobi(3rd hokage) to live or die. The choice is in YOUR HANDS. I'm kind of in the middle, doesn't affect me anyway but I like to get your views on things. 

Woo NEW TECHNIQUES. Common techniques like Kage Bushin and Kage kuani are self explanatory.

**Tenrai Tekken - The user charges electricity throughout the hand, and releases it on impact.**  
**Shiranui-ryu: Tsuchi Batsu - Naruto's sword attack that has the sword slash at the ground with such force it sends rocks and debris towards his enemies.  
Shiranui-ryu: Byakko - Spirit Fox Slash. This attack projects an image of Naruto because he utilizes the Shiranui-ryu speed in the swing causing his moments to be like a mirror image.  
Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Mizuchi - A fast attacking motion that causes continuious strikes on an opponent if it connects causing the opponent to feel a warm breeze of wind before dying.  
Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku- An attack based on the legendary Phoenix guardian in Japanese god mythology. Claws of the mighty bird charge at the opponent while in reality, it is the sword that is creating huge cuts all over the body, leaving the opponent drain and weaken.  
Raijin Morien no Jutsu- Lightning Blade Lightning Web. The opponent gets stuck due to the lightning web on the ground and a mighty lightning strike attacks your opponent.  
Katon: Karyuu Endan- Fire Dragon of flames**  
**Doton: Doryudan- Earth Dragon Bullet - Earth dragon comes out from the ground and shoots bullets made out of earth.  
Suiton: Suiryudan- Water Dragon of water.**


	6. A Different Wind

Authors Note: I'm suprised I got this chapter in under a week. I'm so proud of myself . I loved reading your comments guys, its so refreshing to see how you guys feel about the story. The pairing results are in. There will be NejixTenten, InoxChoji, TemarixShikamaru,HinataxKiba. There is a tie between Sasuke/Lee being paired with Sakura so like I said, I'm flipping a coin for them. Cheers to you guys for reviewing and leaving your votes. The Sandaime hokage poll ended with the results that will be unknown for now.

It is really hard to think of a title thats only 3 words long! I rack my brains out for a day before I come up with one. Now onward to the lovely chapter. I'll try to break out a new chapter next week. Cheers!

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Chapter 6: A Different Wind

_Back in the village_

"Ahh… It feels great to be back in the village. The beautiful girls, the great hot springs, the amazing sights…" Jiraiya could have gone on and on but he was caught up at the moment with staring at the women as they passed by him. He gave them a big winning smile, which they politely waved back.

"You say that for every village Ero-sennin." Naruto pointed that out a little to loud.

Jiraiya quickly turned his head to glare at Naruto but the damage was already done. People started to whisper among themselves and looked cautiously at Jiraiya.

"Damn it Naruto, look at what you did." He smacked Naruto across the head. "Why don't you call me Jiraiya-sensei or something, anything else besides that name!"

"You're lucky that's the only thing they're saying about you." He saw that Naruto had his head down, not looking anywhere besides the ground as they walked to over to the Hokage Tower. He then heard the whispers that Naruto was referring to.

"The Demon? I thought he's dead?"

"Be careful, the demon's back"

"Don't look at him honey, he'll rip your soul out and eat it."

Jiraiya glared at the villagers, forcing them to stop staring and move on. "Naruto… they can't see beyond the usual box. They don't know the real you…" Naruto looked up slowly, with a smile.

"It's okay Ero-sennin, I don't mind." Jiraiya noticed the fake smile. The boy had already put his mask back on. _'You don't fool me Naruto, that mask may hide your true personality but soon, it will crack and then the world will see it was a mistake to reject you.'_

_Hokage Tower_

"Hokage-sama, there are two people here to see you." Sarutobi looked up from his mountain of paperwork.

"Hm… to see these people or to conquer this unconquerable pile of paperwork. What do you suggest?" He sarcastically asked his secretary. It was not one of his good days. He was busy compiling the academy's genin teams and it was giving him a headache. There were fourteen students that had to go into five teams evenly. Each team had to be balance in terms of skills and abilities. If he made a mistake, they could be killed in a mission. '_I am getting too old for this.'_ Sarutobi took some quick scenarios in his head and decided that meeting the guests would be less troublesome.

"Send them in please." Sarutobi waved his hand to confirm his actions.

"Right away Hokage-sama." As soon as his secretary walked out, his two guests waltzed right in.

"Hey old man!" Sarutobi was very surprised to see his guests. In front of him stood two people that he hasn't seen for 6 years. "Naruto… my god, look at you! You grown so much" Naruto was surprised when Sarutobi came over and hugged him. "It is good to have you back Naruto." He released Naruto and looked over him carefully. "You have grown into what I hope you would be. A strong young man." Sarutobi smiled at Naruto before patting him on the head. "You're unusually quiet today Naruto. Don't you have anything to say?"

"No but I have something to say." Sarutobi turned his head to find Jiraiya leaning over the wall. "Yeah, I'm still alive old man."

Sarutobi looked over Jiraiya before laughing. "It's good to see you too Jiraiya."

"Tch old man." Jiraiya had a serious look in his eyes, which meant his news was only for their ears only.

"Oh Naruto, why don't you go down to the village and look at your new apartment." Sarutobi searched through his drawers to find a pair of keys before throwing it to Naruto who caught it. "Right Saurtobi-oiji thanks." Naruto had a big smile on his face as he left the room.

Sarutobi had a smile on his face as he watch Naruto run out of the tower. "So how is he Jiraiya?" He turned around to look at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya walked over to a chair before sitting down. "Would you want the whole truth or the nice and short version?"

"The whole truth." Sarutobi had to know how far the boy had progressed. It was not because Naruto was a jinchuriki that caught his attention. It was his will, the will of fire that he has in him that will bring forth greatness.

"Well, to be direct, I would rank Naruto as above chunnin, lower jounin. The reason is because he lacks experience, which he will make up as he goes on. He has more potential than the fourth himself." Jiraiya thought some more before continuing. "I would say his swordsmanship is great, his taijutsu is high jounin, ninjutsu is high jounin as well but his genjutsu is only average because he didn't bother to concentrate on it."

Sarutobi was surprised at this. He knew Naruto had untapped potential but to see him develop them this fast was astonishing. "I see… now the problem is putting Naruto in a team that will put his abilities to good use."

Jiraiya didn't know the current information about the village except from the letters he exchanged with his sensei. "What prospects do we have this year?" Sarutobi took a list off his desk and handed it to Jiraiya.

"Hm… the Uchiha brat looks like he's going to be the rookie of the year. We also have a Hyuuga and an Aburame. It looks promising this year."

"Yes we do but putting them into teams is no easy matter."

"Put Naruto with the Uchiha, it'll give Naruto some common grounds and maybe he can teach the Uchiha a thing or two." Sarutobi looked at Jiraiya carefully, trying to understand his reasoning. "Are you sure about this Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya nodded his head. "I do not doubt Naruto's abilities for a second. He has learned a lot throughout his travels with me."

"I saw a strange symbol on his back as he left the room. What was that symbol Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya gave his sensei a smirk. "That's the symbol for the Denkou clan" Sarutobi opened his mouth in surprise. If Naruto's abilities were surprising, this was shocking. The Denkou clan was renown all over the world. Now after hearing the news, he does not have any more doubts of Naruto's abilities. "Okay Jiraiya, I'm putting him on the team with the Uchiha."

"You won't regret it old man."

_In the village_

Naruto was happy to finally be back in the village but he still felt the glares from behind his back. He lowered his head slightly before walking faster.

"The demon's back in town."

"I thought he died. Is he trying to mock us?"

Naruto looked up, with an emotionless face. He then vanished into the wind, leaving nothing behind. A particular spectator was surprised at this. '_He left no chakra trail and it seemed like he can do Shunshin… Impressive'_

_Hokage Tower_

"It's finally done now." Sarutobi stretched as he put his pen down and got up.

"Great old man, I now leave Naruto under your care and take my time now to do my research!" Jiraiya got near the door and left the room before the Sandaime could issue some ridiculous order such as to make him stay in the village. '_Don't let us down Naruto…'_ Both of these men thought as they went on with on with their seperate ways.

_Naruto's apartment_

'_Damn it's kind of far from the town. Shouldn't have expected much.'_ Naruto had to run over a mile just to get to his apartment.

"**Be grateful that there are people that still accept you for who you are brat." **

'_Yeah… I know but I can't help but think that they're only doing this because they have to, not because they want to.'_

"**Brat, did anyone tell you that you think too much."**

'_Shut up Fox.'_ Naruto looked into his new apartment, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a single bedroom. _'This is a simple apartment…' _

"**_For a simple brat."_ **The fox snickered inside Naruto's mind.

'_shut it fox, at least I have something more than that stupid cage.' _Naruto chuckled as he heard Kyuubi roar in his cage. Naruto heard some quiet footsteps outside his door before a knock. He wondered who would be looking for him. An Anbu was standing outside the door when Naruto opened it.

Naruto glanced at the Anbu. "Can I help you?"

The Anbu looked at him before answering quickly. "The Hokage requests your presence immediately." The Anbu disappeared into a puff of smoke as soon as the message was delivered. He didn't want to stay any longer than he needed to. Naruto smirked as he saw the Anbu making tracks across the rooftops.

"I guess its time to see the Hokage."

_Hokage Tower_

"What did you need me for old man?" Naruto barged in through the doors.

Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork to see the blonde. "Ah Naruto, how was your apartment?"

"It was great, thanks old man." Naruto smiled before sitting down in front of the Hokage.

"I want to discuss with you today about enrolling into the academy."

Naruto jumped up in surprise. "Why should I enroll into some academy that was intended for weaklings?" He replied coldly.

"Naruto, if you haven't noticed your still a child and you need to be with people your age."

Naruto slammed his hand on the desk, sending the papers flying everywhere. "I do not need anyone and I won't need anyone." He answered back with a cold tone.

The Hokage stood up, trying to calm the boy down. "Naruto hear me out. Is your dream still to become Hokage?" He wanted Naruto to listen to his reason before he walked away.

"Of course I do! I will take that title away from you!" Naruto pointed to him and smirked. "Don't die before I take it from you old man."

Sarutobi started laughing. "Haha Naruto, if you want to take my title, you will have to go through the academy exam and pass to become a genin."

"If that's what I have to do then so be it." Naruto walked over to the window before turning around. He had a determined look on his face and eyes of fire that was shining brighter than ever.

Sarutobi couldn't help but smile. "I believe that you will Naruto, that one day, you will become the greatest Hokage ever. Now get some sleep, you will be at the academy for the exam tomorrow morning. Don't be late." Naruto nodded before disappearing through the window.

'_Truly amazing'_ Sarutobi thought as he walked over to the window that Naruto left open and closed it. "You can come out now Kakashi."

Kakashi appeared from the wall and walked towards the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama" He bowed in respect.

"If your here, that means you saw Naruto already right?" Kakashi looked up and smiled. "Yes, he's grown a lot and from his earlier entrance, I would say he's improved a lot."

"I won't say much but just stay on your toes, he'll give you a run for your money." Kakashi repressed a smile. "We'll see in a few days then."

_Next morning Academy_

Naruto followed the directions given to him from the Hokage for locating the academy. As soon as he reached the grounds of the academy, everything was silent. Parents were staring at him and the kids stopped doing whatever they were doing; only because their parents stopped and looked straight at him.

As Naruto walked by, he could feel their intense glares on him and ushered their children into the classroom where it was safe. '_This is why I didn't want to come back…'_ Naruto didn't want to hate the villagers but at times, he couldn't help but hate them. He plastered on his smile and continued walking to find the teacher who went by the name of Iruka Umino.

'_What's so special about him anyway?'_ A raven hair boy looked at Naruto as he walked by. '_My problems are bigger than him. He doesn't look like much anyway.'_

"Sasuke-kun, come on lets go!" He turned around to see his fan girls calling out his name.

"Hn." He walked by them and into the classroom.

_Inside the Classroom_

Children's chatter filled the big classroom. The students couldn't help but feel nervous about the exam that was coming up. All of them had hopes of graduating and becoming ninjas for the village. The students looked at the door as their teacher Iruka Umino walked in. "Alright settle down now"

The talking soon stopped as he walked towards the center of the room. "We have a new student who will be joining us for the exam today. Please give a warm welcome to Naruto Uzumaki." A five foot one boy walked into the classroom, wearing a light blue t-shirt and black pants.

Naruto felt the silence as he walked near Iruka. Iruka saw the unwelcoming glare that his students were showing towards Naruto. He would too if he was teaching the boy who had the Kyuubi sealed inside him.

_Flashback_

_Iruka received a message from the Hokage saying that he wanted to see him. He didn't know what he wanted but to send an Anbu to personally fetch him must be pretty important. Now he was standing before the Hokage. "Iruka, I will be adding a late entry into your class tomorrow for the exam."_

"_Late entry? I don't understand." Iruka had a confused look on his face. It was already the end of the semester and he doubts anyone, even being admitted personally by the Hokage, could pass._

"_He's been traveling around for the past few years and he couldn't find the time to attend the academy." Sarutobi was slowly studying the man, judging him if he was someone who resent Naruto for what he is._

"_With all due respect sir, an entry this late would mean being dead-last in the class."_

"_I know Iruka but I don't think he cares about being dead-last. Is it too late?"_

_Iruka really didn't have a choice, the Hokage would put him in if he said yes or no anyway. "Who is this child?" He was curious to see who this boy was if he had the Hokage's support behind him._

"_Naruto Uzumaki"_

_Iruka's eyes widen as he heard the name. "NO, Definitely NOT" He wanted nothing to do with the demon. "Let the demon in with the other kids? I can not let the other children be harmed by him!"_

_Sarutobi sighed and shook his head. "Iruka, do you really think Naruto is the Kyuubi? He is only the person who is holding the demon back. I know the Kyuubi killed your parents and made you an orphan but Naruto himself has grown up without knowing his parents and had to fend for himself. He had no one to take care of himself and was left out in the streets until I found him."_

_Iruka felt his vision of the demon shatter. He was caught up with the rumors themselves that he never got a chance to see Naruto for himself. "An orphan… like me…?"_

"_Yes but he has had it worst than you." Memories of his childhood came back to Iruka as he looked back. He couldn't help but feel that the Kyuubi child isn't a demon anymore; just a regular child who was fated to carry a huge burden._

"_I decided that I will accept him into my class tomorrow"_

"_Thank you so much Iruka, this means a lot to me." Sarutobi bowed his head._

"_H-hokage-sama, there's no need for that. I will be going now." Iruka bowed his head once more before leaving the room._

_Flashback End_

"Let's see where you'll sit…" Iruka looked around the classroom for an empty seat. He didn't want to put Naruto that far back. He spotted an empty seat next to Nara Shikamaru. "There is an empty seat next to Shikamaru. Shikamaru raise your lazy hand so he knows who you are."

Shikamaru slowly looked up to see the new student before raising his hand. '_A new student, so troublesome. He'll probably bug me until the day ends.'_ Naruto saw his seat and walked over to it. He noticed that a couple of students were staring at him, a Raven hair boy and a couple of girls. He ignored them and sat down in his seat next to Shikamaru.

"Okay, today is our graduation exam. We will be conducting the test in 20 minutes so prepare for it. It will consist of making three bushins, a henge, and effectively use a kawarimi. I will be calling you one by one for testing. Until then, please stay in your seats and don't cause trouble." Iruka sat down in his chair to set up the preparations with his assistant Mizuki.

Mizuki looked interestingly at Naruto. _'So that's the demon brat… He will prove useful later when he fails.' _Mizuki had a small smile before going back to his preparations for the exam.

Naruto was carefully studying his new environment, making notes of the people in his class and his teachers. '_This exam will be easy compared to the one Araki-neechan gave me. Sadist nee-chan.'_ He closed his eyes and put his head down to catch up some sleep until it was his turn to take the exam.

Shikamaru looked at his neighbor and grinned. _'If he likes to sleep in class, then he's okay in my book.'_ Shikamaru then followed Naruto's example and put his head down.

News has spread like wild fire. Everyone was curious about the new boy. All they knew about the boy was that their parents dont want them to be assoicated with him. Unknown to Naruto, he is now the center of attention to everyone in the class.

'_Look at that dobe, putting his head down like he's going to pass.'_ Sasuke was looking at Naruto. He couldn't help but noticed something familiar about Naruto but he can't put his finger on it.

"Hey Sakura, look at the new kid, Naruto."

"He can't compare to my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura Haruno was one of the smartest kids in the class, next to her friend Ino Yamanaka. They were the smartest kunoichi in the class.

"Your Sasuke-kun? He's mine!" The girls argued back and forth between themselves on who their Sasuke-kun liked.

Naruto looked up and glared at the girls. Sakura and Ino felt an intense glare from behind, instantly shutting up and turning around to see who was staring at them. When they turned around, Naruto had already put his head down and went back to sleep but unfortunately for Sasuke who was looking at Naruto, turned his head a second too early and caught the eyes of Sakura and Ino who shrieked when they saw it was their Sasuke-kun that looked at them.

Iruka stood up after he finished the preparations. "Okay quiet down! It is time to begin your exams. When I call your name please step up and perform your objectives." He had hoped that all of his students passed.

"Aburame Shino, please come up and perform three bushins, a henge of a teacher and use kawarimi effectively." Shino walked up slowly and nodded. He performed the hand seals and did three bushins, transformed into a perfect Iruka and switched himself with one of his clones. Iruka and Mizuki nodded to each other to confirm his passing. "Congratulations you passed." Iruka handed Shino his headband.

After Shino, there were some more people called, including Sakura and Ino who passed with excellence. Iruka smiled at the people who passed so far. He felt happy that he had something to do with their future careers as ninjas.

"Uchiha Sasuke" Sasuke walked down to the front with a determined look. Naruto picked his head up slightly to look at the Uchiha. He saw him perform five bushins and turned both of them into Iruka and Mizuki. He then correctly used kawamri with two students. Iruka gave him a big smile and said congratulations.

Sasuke turned around and smirked to Naruto. Naruto rolled his eyes and poked Shikamaru. "Hey Nara-san, who is that kid?"

Shikamaru picked his head up and looked at Sasuke. "That's Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha clan. They were all murdered one night and he is the last one left. The villagers treat him like a god because of his bloodline."

Naruto took one look at the Uchiha and laughed. "He doesn't look like much." Shikamaru laughed as well. "You know, you're not bad, come join me and Choji at Ichiraku today."

Naruto gave out a small smile and nodded. "I will see you at lunch then Nara-san."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Call me Shikamaru; I'm not my old man. It's too troublesome to be him."

"Okay then Shikamaru."

"Uzumaki Naruto" Iruka read the name off his clipboard. Naruto was the last one on the list that hasn't gone yet. He hoped the Hokage knew what he was doing by putting Naruto in the academy. As Naruto went down to the front, he felt all eyes on him. He figured everyone wanted to see what he could do, knowing he that was new and all.

"Okay, you know the drill. Three bushins, henge and a kawarimi jutsu." Naruto nodded. He held up one hand and produced one bushin.

"I said three bushins, not one Naruto." Iruka looked in disappointment at the boy. Even the average academy student could make three.

Sasuke smirked from his seat. '_I knew he was weak.'_

Naruto looked confused. "I do have 3 bushins out here."

"Like hell you do dobe." Naruto turned his head to see a boy with a dog on top of his head insulting him.

"Kiba! Sit down now!" Iruka yelled to the boy to sit back down in his seat. "What do you mean Naruto?" He looked at Naruto confusingly.

"You said to perform three bushins, a henge and kawarimi right Umino-san?"

Iruka tried to decipher what the boy was trying to say but he couldn't make any sense of it. "If you can't produce three bushins, I'm afraid you fail Naruto."

Naruto sighed before shaking his head. "Look at the chair you're sitting on and the desk you're writing on sensei." Iruka jumped up and inspected his chair and desk. Naruto smiled before releasing the henge. The chair and desk turned into clones of Naruto. Iruka and Mizuki jumped back in surprise.

Iruka looked at the clones more closely. '_These aren't bushins, their solid clones. He didn't even use any excess chakra when creating them. When did Naruto switch them and how did he do it?'_ Iruka smiled before nodding with Mizuki. "Congratulations Naruto, you passed with flying colors."

The rest of the class was quiet. They were all shocked with the his demonstration. "Sensei, how did he do that? It's a trick right?" Sakura replayed the scene in her mind, trying to understand it. Iruka looked at Naruto who only shook his head.

"Sakura, what Naruto did was similar to a trick but it was how he did it that made him pass." Sakura felt relieved now. She knew her Sasuke-kun was the strongest.

Sasuke was also feeling relieved. _'I knew he was weak. Why did I get anxious when he performed it? I think he's hiding something…' _

Iruka looked over his list one more time before standing up. "Well it looks like everyone in this classroom has passed the exam. Everyone here is now dismissed but come back in one hour so we can assign you to teams." He was truly happy that everyone of his students passed the exam. Some of them truly have bright futures, just like Naruto Uzumaki.

The children ran outside happily, as their parents were outside greeting them. Iruka noticed that Naruto was the last one to leave. He couldn't help but feel pity for the boy. Naruto walked out of the room slowly. He had nowhere to go nor did he have anyone to share his news with. His neechan wasn't here and Ero-sennin was probably off doing research. He saw the rest of the children holding up their headbands for their parents to see. He missed the comfort of having a real family.

'_Hey fox… did you ever have a family?'_

"**Family? I am the strongest of all the biju brat. Now go away before I eat you."** Naruto chuckled at the fox. He knew talking to the fox could take his mind off matters, even if it was for a second. He then remembered his lunch with Shikamaru and his friend Choji at Ichiraku today.

_Back at the academy_

The boys made their way back to the academy. Naruto had found Choji to be quite the eater. He was also strong and considerate given his body size. They instantly became friends over several bowls of ramen. Choji at first was happy to find a new eating buddy with and anyone that could eat as much as him wasn't that bad at all. Shikamaru looked at the bowls that those two consumed. They were stacked as high as the Hokage's paperwork. He thought it was too troublesome to even eat anymore after watching those two eat. As they made their way towards their seats, they saw Iruka walking back into the classroom.

"Hey Naruto, how come I never saw you in this village before?" Naruto hesitated before answering. He didn't want to give himself away.

Naruto looked at Choji before answering. "I was raised both in and out of this village for a while. I have been traveling everywhere since I was young."

Choji grinned at Naruto. "That is so cool; you must have eaten different varieties of local cuisine."

Naruto nodded his head. "Yup, food from different countries taste different but their all good."

"Alright, alright. Settle down." The boys looked at each other and shrugged as they sat down. "I will now call out the team members and their sensei. Please remember it because I won't repeat it." The class waited in anticipation to see which team they would be put on.

"Team 10 will be Nara Shikamaru…" Shikamaru picked his head up to listen for the rest of his team. "Akimichi Choji…" Choji gave his best friend a smile and received a nod in return from Shikamaru. "and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma"

"What?? I'm paired up with THEM?" Ino ranted on about how useless her teammates were before Iruka told her to be quiet and sit down.

Shikamaru looked at Ino before putting his head back down. "How troublesome." Unfortunately for him, Ino heard it. "What did you say??" She threw her book at Shikamaru and hit him on the head. Choji snickered at the scene.

"Ino! Please refrain yourself or I will do it for you." Ino bowed her head in apology towards her sensei.

"Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame and your sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai." Iruka paused for a moment before continuing.

"Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and …" Sakura jumped up from her seat. "Take that Ino-pig!" She stuck her tongue at Ino.

"Sit down Sakura!" Iruka yelled from the front. "Uzumaki Naruto. Your sensei will be Hakate Kakashi." Sasuke smiled at the news. He was glad the new kid was on his team. Now he could see who was the stronger one. "Okay, now that your teams have been called, please wait here and your sensei will pick you up." Iruka left the room after the announcement, leaving the students to talk among themselves.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door and the students were quiet. "Uh… is Team 10 here, I'm Asuma Sarutobi." Naruto looked up to see a tall man. He wondered what the relationship between him and the old man was.

After Team 10 left, a red hair woman entered the room. "Is team 8 here, I'm Kurenai Yuhi." Pretty soon, all the teams were picked up leaving Team 7 alone in the classroom. Sakura couldn't be happier. She was in the room with the boy of her dreams. '_Yes. Love conquers ALL!' _Sasuke was too busy ignoring her and analyzing Naruto. Naruto was just oblivious to everything. He had his head down, sleeping. He didn't detect any chakra signals around the academy. He figured their sensei forgot about them, which was okay to him. He didn't care much for this team.

_Two hours later_

As Hatake Kakashi walked into the classroom, he figured his students were angry at him. _'Oh well, its not like I'm going to pass them anyway'_ He opened the door and walked in.

"Yo!" Kakashi waved his hand to greet his students.

"Sensei, you're late!" Sakura's loud voice echoed through the empty classroom.

"Shut up pinky, you're very loud." She turned around to see Naruto rubbing his eyes. Kakashi noticed Naruto who was actually wide-awake. '_So he noticed my chakra signature. Interesting kid.'_ He saw Sasuke sitting in his seat glaring at him.

"You see, there was this chicken that had trouble crossing the road and I had to help her."

"Liar" Sakura screamed at him once again.

"Anyway, my first impression of you three is you bore me. Meet me on the rooftop." He disappeared into smoke, leaving Team 7 to walk up the stairs. Sasuke and Sakura immediately ran up the stairs, not caring where Naruto was. Naruto smiled. '_Such caring team mates. I feel the love…'_ He slowly walked up the stairs to the roof to meet their late sensei.

Kakashi watched as two of his three students made it up the stairs, out of breathe and tired. _'Where's Naruto?'_ He looked behind them to see the blonde boy walking up slowly, taking his time. Kakashi smiled under his mask. '_This will be an interesting team.' _

"Okay as soon as our last member arrives, we'll start with introductions." When Naruto finally reached the top of the stairs, he found everyone looking at him. He quickly made his way to sit besides Sasuke.

"Okay, now that we're here, why don't we introduce ourselves, tell me your likes, dislikes, and your dreams for the future."

Sakura was a little confused. She didn't know what to say infront of their sensei. "Um sensei, why don't you go first so we can have an example."

"Hm. Fair enough. My name is Hatake Kakashi, my likes and dislikes are a lot of things and my goals are none of your concern." Sasuke and Sakura glared at Kakashi. They didn't learn much except for his name. Naruto laughed to himself. '_So his name is Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja.' _

Kakashi noticed how Naruto was being quiet. "You, the very quiet one, why don't you go first." Naruto looked up and figured there was no way out of this. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I have no likes, I dislike this village. My dream is to one day become the greatest Hokage since the fourth."

Sasuke laughed. "You? Hokage? You couldn't even do a simple bushin." "Yeah yeah, that's right." Sakura joined in. Naruto only smiled which only irritated Sasuke some more.

Kakashi nodded at Naruto's statement. He looked at Sasuke for the next introduction. "Okay, the brooding one. Your next."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi before continuing. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes or dislikes. My dream, no my goal, is to kill a certain man and resurrect my clan."

'_Sasuke's so cool!'_ Sakura gave him dreamy eyes and looked on. Naruto was lying on his back looking at the clouds, ignoring everyone.

"Okay pinky, you're up." Sakura snapped back to reality and introduced herself. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" She looks at Sasuke and giggles. "I hate Ino-pig and a certain blonde." She looks at Naruto. "My dream is to one day…" She again looks at Sasuke and giggled again.

'_So I have a fan girl, an avenger and a mystery on my hands. Great start.'_ Kakashi only shuddered to think about the work fate has in stored for him. "Okay tomorrow, we'll have one last survival exam."

Sasuke and Naruto looked up. Sakura was shocked. "But sensei, I thought we already graduated."

"You may have graduated to prove that your able to read and write but in this exam, you have to prove to me that you're able to become ninjas. This has a sixty-six point six percent chance failing rate."

"What!" Sakura screamed.

"Don't bother eating anything because you'll just throw up." Sasuke frowned while Naruto only sat there looking up at the sky.

"Such pretty clouds…" He said out loud. "You're an interesting one Naruto. Meet me at training grounds 7 tomorrow at 8 am sharp." Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto got up slowly and made his way to the door. "Fight me dobe." Naruto turned his head to see Sasuke standing there.

"You're not worth my time." As Naruto started walking away, Sasuke yelled out. "Don't turn your back on me!" He charged straight at Naruto. "Idiot…" Naruto muttered under his breathe. As Sasuke got closer with his fist raised, Naruto stepped aside, sticking out his foot and tripped him.

As Sasuke was falling down, he saw Naruto's eyes. It reminded him of his brother. They both have the same cold eyes. Naruto whispered something to him quietly. "You're really weak you know that _Sasuke-kun_? I could have killed you in so many different ways right now but lucky for you, I want some ramen."

Naruto continued walking away, leaving Sasuke on the floor. He was too shocked to move. The similarities between his brother and Naruto were almost the same. "Baka Naruto! How dare you do that to my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura started running towards Naruto, her hands up raised to slap him. Naruto turned around and caught her hand. "If you touch me Haruno, I will break every part of your hand and make you wish that you never met me." Naruto let go of her hand and Sakura fell to her knees, shaking.

As Naruto left the rooftop, Kakashi looked from across the building. '_Interesting, I never seen those two that shaken up before. Oh well not my problem.'_ Kakashi disappeared once more into his own business.

A few minutes have past and Sakura got over her little scene with Naruto. She looked around to find Sasuke still on the floor. She noticed the empty eyes on his face. "Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, are you alright? What did he do to you?" She shook him a feel times before he snapped back to reality.

"He didn't do anything. He didn't want to fight me."

"I knew he couldn't take you!" '_He must be weak if Sasuke-kun didn't want to hurt him! Yeah that's right!' _Sakura told herself mentally. She didn't want to believe that her Sasuke-kun was weak. "Hey Sasuke-kun, do you want to go on a date with me?"

Sasuke looked at her before getting up. "No." He continued walking away while Sakura took his no as code for maybe next time.

"Wait for me Sasuke-kun!" She ran after him.

_Later that night_

"Ah.. That was some great ramen dinner. That man can sure cook up a mean noodle" Naruto was walking slowly back to his house.

It was dark and people weren't out in the streets anymore. They were home where they had people waiting for them, unlike him. He had no one to go home to. No one was waiting for him. '_If people say that death is the worst possible thing, they are sure wrong.'_ Naruto looked around to see families all happy and cheerful and he was just out walking alone. He was walking around until he saw Mizuki jumping from rooftop to rooftop rather stealthily and in a hurry as well. '_Well I got nothing else to do, might as well see what he is doing.'_

Naruto proceeded to follow him into the forest but hid himself when he felt another chakra signature approaching rather quickly. He identified it as Iruka Umino. '_What is Iruka-sensei doing here?'_ He saw Iruka jump in front of Mizuki.

"Hand over that scroll Mizuki. It is against the law the steal the forbidden scroll." Naruto looked at the big scroll behind Mizuki's back. '_So that's the forbidden scroll. I remember Ero-sennin telling me that it holds great power in there.'_ He waited and watched the scene play out.

"Don't be such a drag Iruka. Join me and we can learn the secrets of the scroll together!" Iruka took out his kunai and got ready to charge. "Over my dead body." Iruka charged head on against Mizuki but Mizuki was ready for it. He thrusted a palm strike into Iruka's face, sending him back into a tree. He reached for his weapon pouch and quickly flung a handful of kunais, striking Iruka on his arms and knees, rendering him unable to get up.

"Well since you can't join me, it looks like we part here." As Mizuki reached for his shuriken, he was punched in the gut by an unknown ninja. He staggered back, holding his stomach to take a good look at his attacker.

"You…" Iruka looked up in surprise to see his savior. "Naruto Uzumaki, at your service." Naruto gave a little smirk as he watch Mizuki stood back up.

Mizuki tried to talk his way out of it. He knows the situation looks bad but maybe he could convince the demon to join him. "Why don't you join me Naruto? We're the same you know?"

Naruto only laughed at him. "We're nothing alike; I'm so much better looking than you."

Mizuki smirked. "We both want something more in our lives. You have a secret that possibly even you don't know of. Do you know why your hated Naruto? Why everyone keeps giving your dirty looks?"

Iruka realized what Mizuki was trying to do. "Stop Mizuki, It's against the rules." He tried to get up but he found himself unable to.

"Naruto, the reason why everyone hates you…"

"Is because I'm the Kyuubi no Yoki." Naruto interrupted him and finished his sentence.

Mizuki looked shocked. "How did you know?" He backed away slowly. If the Kyuubi was released, not even the scroll could save him.

"I know for a long time now and there is a reason why I came back now." Naruto walked closer to Mizuki.

"Stay away from me _demon_." Mizuki spat out venomous.

Naruto had a little sadistic smile on his face. "I could care less if you try to destroy this pitiful village but if you try and use that power to hurt the few precious people that I hold dear to me, I'll kill you."

Mizuki put his hands up in the air, trying to defend himself. "You talk big demon, let's see you walk it!" Mizuki threw a punch towards Naruto's face.

"Word does not get out Iruka-sensei" Iruka nodded as he saw Naruto jerked his head to the right to avoid the punch. Naruto pulled his hand back, palm wide open.

"Don't look away, you're in for a surprise." Blue chakra started spinning in his right hand. They started coming together to form a perfect sphere. Iruka looked in surprise. '_That jutsu looks familiar…'_ Mizuki tired to step back but found Naruto holding on to his shirt. Who would not run away when they are able to see chakra to an amount that was visible to the normal eye. He saw Naruto gripping tight to his vest, not letting go but he had a smile on his face.

"Rasengan"

Naruto cried out before thrusting his right hand forward into Mizuki's chest. The impact sent Mizuki spinning into a tree, killing him instantly. The force of the impact left a dent mark of three centimeters thick.

Naruto walked up to an injured Iruka. "Are you alright Iruka-sensei?" He offered his hand slowly to Iruka, unsure if Iruka was a threat to him or not.

Iruka smiled at him before taking his hand. "You have my greatest thanks and respect Naruto."

"No problem sensei, you happened to show up before me. Now what you saw here tonight is to be kept confidential between you and me. Do you understand?" Iruka only nodded his head. His whole body ached and was in pain.

"I'll treat you to ramen sometime Naruto but for now, can you help me to the hospital?"

"Yeah hold on for a second." Naruto went to grab the scroll before going back to help Iruka to the hospital. "I have to leave you at the hospital sensei. I have to meet my sensei early in the morning."

Iruka looked at Naruto before laughing. "Don't worry about being late Naruto. Kakashi has been known to be the late ninja. He would probably be late to his own funeral. Just take your time and eat some breakfast. No sense in not doing it."

"Thank you for the advice." Naruto dropped Iruka at the hospital before continuing his way home.

_Hokage Tower_

'_I see that Jiraiya taught him the Rasengan and he also recovered the scroll. Well now that's safe, I guess I can continue reading my book.'_ Sarutobi looked through his crystal ball. He saw the events upto where Naruto killed Mizuki and is now taking Iruka to the hospital. _'Tomorrow's going to be a very interesting day._' Sarutobi took out his suspicious looking orange book before continuing on where he left it.

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Authors Note: Please dont kill me guys. I tried putting some action scenes into this chapter but it couldn't be done. -.- I really tried, I really did. Uh no technique list this chapter unless you want me to list the basic jutsu... I hope I don't have to list the Rasengan but if you want me too, i'll add it later on. I know the reviews will be kinda interesting this chapter because when I was typing this up, I felt kind of strange as well. Thanks for being a constant reader guys, I appreicate it. See you next time! 


	7. The Survival Exam

Authors Note: Ah I managed to pull through another chapter. Thanks to all the people that left me reviews!! Thank you for the title suggestion **son of the morning, **Well I enjoyed writing this chapter so tell me what you guys think. 

I do not own any part of Naruto expect maybe his sword. If anyone claims I own Naruto, my divine rapier will hand out divine judgment on you. Thanks for reading and come again. There seem to be trouble with Chapter 7 viewing problems, Trying to see if its a fault on my behalf.

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Chapter 7: The Survival Exam 

Naruto was abruptly awaken from the sounds of his overpriced cheap alarm clock. It was one of the few necessities that he was able to buy without being thrown out from several stores.

His eyes were unfocused for a second as he read the time. He squinted a bit to see the time. '_7:00 AM? Only fools would be up this early.' _Naruto hit the snooze button one more time before going back to sleep. '_Iruka-san said Kakashi would be late. I guess I'll get up in a few more minutes.'_ Darkness engulfed Naruto as he welcomed it once again.

_One hour later_

Bright beams of sunlight, forced their way though the single window of Naruto's apartment, forcing him to wake up. He twisted and turned but couldn't avoid the light.

He turned his head to look at his clock. "8:25 AM? I guess it's time to get up." Naruto got up from his bed slowly. He knew Kakashi would probably come around ten so it gave him plenty of time to get ready.

_Training Ground 7_

As Naruto walked towards the training grounds, he saw Sasuke and Sakura already there. Sakura was trying to talk to Sasuke but the Uchiha was too busy ignoring her. _'Hm… I don't sense Kakashi's chakra signature anywhere so I think I'll hide in the shades for a while.'_

Naruto figured Sasuke was too proud to initiate a conversation with him and pinky probably would not even talk to him. _'Why make life harder than it already is.'_ Naruto suppressed his chakra and jumped quietly into a tree that wasn't far away from his teammates.

It was several hours before Kakashi showed up, walking casually towards Sasuke and Sakura.

"Yo!" He greeted, waving his left hand.

"You and Naruto are both late!" Sakura screamed at him. She was not in a good mood. She woke up at 6 am without eating breakfast. She was tired and she couldn't get Sasuke to notice her. To sum her up in one word, it would be that she was pissed.

"Naruto's late? I don't think so." Kakashi looked towards a tree. "Naruto, why don't you grace us with your presence."

The genins turned their head, expecting to see their blond teammate but found nothing. Sakura looked at Kakashi as if he was crazy or something.

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't think Naruto is here. Sasuke-kun and I have been here since 7 and we haven't seen him." Sakura wanted to release her frustrations on a particular person but he wasn't quite here. Kakashi chuckled slightly.

"I've been here since 10 am pinky." Sakura turned her head to see Naruto leaning against the tree.

"Yo." Naruto waved his hand to greet his teammates. Sasuke's eyes widen. '_When did he get here? I didn't even notice him.' _

"Naruto, Why are you late!" Sakura let out her infamous scream.

"You'll wake the dead one day with your voice pinky." Naruto had his hands over his ears, checking to see if they were bleeding.

"Anyway, now that we're here, let's start this test." Kakashi walked over to a tree stump and put down a timer. He held out two silver bells before tying it to his waist. "It is 10:30 right now. You guys have until 12:00 to get the bells from me. Come at me with the intention of killing me."

"Are you sure about that sensei?" Sakura had a little concern in her voice. She didn't want to see her sensei badly beaten by her Sasuke-kun.

Kakashi wonders if she was showing concern for him or concern that Sasuke was going to beat him badly. "Don't worry about me Sakura, you guys won't land a scratch on me. I'm not a jounin for nothing you know."

Naruto let out a little laugh. Kakashi glanced at Naruto before flicking the bells. Sakura looked at the bells and saw only two. "Kakashi-sensei, why are there only two bells when there are three of us?"

"I'm glad you asked. It means that one of you will fail indefinitely and will be sent back to the academy." Kakashi said happily. Sasuke smirked; he was going to be one of the people to get the bell. Nothing can stop him until he fulfills his goal to kill his brother. Naruto looked at the bells before yawning.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Ready…" He paused for a moment. "Begin!" The three genins disappeared from sight. '_This will be one interesting test.'_ The copy ninja walked towards the center of the field, taking a look at his surroundings.

In a nearby bush, Sakura was watching her sensei just standing there. '_I must get a bell if I want to pass with Sasuke-kun.'_ She wondered where he went. She looked around before hearing a noise. She turned her head to see the face of her sensei. "Boo Sakura…" Her eyes widen as she saw him holding up a seal.

Kakashi held up his hand in a ram seal. **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu **Sakura saw leaves whirling around her as her vision went blurry. She ran out from her hiding place in hopes of running away from her sensei. She saw her beloved Sasuke-kun leaning across a tree, with blood coming out of his mouth and wounds all over his body. It was a greusome sight. "Sakura… run." Those were the words she heard before he fell over dead. She let out a high pitch scream before fainting.

Kakashi stared at his student when she let out a scream. _'She fell for the easiest genjutsu? Isn't she supposed to have good chakra control? I wonder how reliable those reports are now…'_ Kakashi sweat dropped as he saw how easily Sakura fell to his genjutsu.

Sasuke, who was hiding in a nearby tree, heard a girlish scream. '_That must mean he got to Sakura. Easier for me now since there are two bells and I only need one.'_ He continued to keep his eyes open for his sensei.

Naruto turned his head to the voice of the scream. '_Haha, pinky must have went down hard.'_ He chuckled to himself before finding a tree with a nice spot to lie in.

Kakashi walked back onto the field. '_One down, two left.'_ He wondered how the infamous Uchiha would do and how far Naruto has advanced.

Sasuke saw Kakashi just standing there, leaving himself wide open. '_There! He left himself wide open.'_ He threw a kunai with an exploding note attached towards Kakashi. Kakashi heard a whizzing noise coming towards him and dodged at the last second. He was caught completely by surprise when he noticed there was an exploding note attached to it.

The note exploded, causing a loud 'boom', sending mild shockwaves from the area. Sasuke saw Kakashi jump away, towards the left. He saw his chance to attack. He leaped up from his tree and flung shurikens with his right hand and several kunais with his left. The shurikens went for Kakashi as the kunais went below him.

'_Hm… his aim needs some improvement. The kunais should have been used in combination to hit me. That move might have caused him everything'._ Kakashi saw the kunais flying under him, missing him by a wide margin while the shurikens were coming directly towards him. Kakashi heard a loud 'thump' sound before seeing a rain of more kunais and shurikens flying towards him from every direction. '_Shit. He led me to believe that he was a novice to distract the intentions of the kunais. Sasuke Uchiha…I can't underestimate him.'_

Sasuke was standing nearby as he saw his sensei get impaled by his trap. 'O_ver already?'_ Sasuke went on high alert when he saw his sensei's bloody body turned into a log. '_Kawamari! Shit, that means he knows my location.'_ Sasuke ran from the tree and into an open area.

'_So that's where he was.'_ Kakashi jumped up from his own hiding spot before confronting Sasuke. Naruto yawned as he watched his teammate try and best the famous copy ninja. '_This test is so obvious, I'm surprised Sakura didn't notice this first.'_ Naruto watched the fight between Sasuke and Kakashi with little interest. He knew Sasuke was way in over his head but it was funny to see Kakashi knock him down a peg or two.

Sasuke took out a pair of kunais before raising it to guard himself against his sensei. He was about to throw it when Kakashi reached into his weapon pouch. Kakashi noticed Sasuke hesitating. "Why didn't you attack me? I was just going to take out this." Kakashi pulled out a dark green book. "Don't worry; you probably won't even stop me from reading."

Sasuke was fuming mad. He was supposed to be an Uchiha and here, he was getting mocked by his sensei. Sasuke threw his kunai before rushing towards Kakashi. Kakashi caught the kunai with his right hand, and stepped back just to avoid his student's punch. Sasuke swung his right hand towards Kakashi's face. Kakashi dropped the kunai before catching the fist. Sasuke then turned his body around and threw a kick from his sides, which Kakashi caught by using his left hand.

Kakashi began to spin his body, increasing his momentum and using the boy's momentum as well to throw the Uchiha away. Sasuke landed on a tree before disappearing in smoke. '_Bushin?'_ Kakashi turned around to see Sasuke finishing up some hand seals. **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu **

Sasuke finished the seal and sent a huge fireball towards Kakashi. '_An academy student should not have this much chakra reserves to pull this off.'_ He mentally yelled to himself. He dashed towards the incoming fireball and disappeared. Sasuke's attention was being diverted to the scorching of his sensei in front of him. He didn't notice Kakashi appearing behind him and knocking him out.

Naruto was enjoying the fight between Kakashi and Sasuke. '_Wow, that's a big fireball.'_ Naruto let out a low whistle to the display that he witnessed. '_Hm… guess that means it's my turn now.'_ Naruto disappeared from his tree.

Sakura was starting to wake up. She felt her head ache in pain as she got up. Her eyes went huge when she saw her Sasuke-kun lying on the floor unconscious. "Sasuke-kun!" She ran to him, making sure he wasn't dead.

"He's okay pinky, Kakashi-sensei didn't hurt him that much." Sakura heard a familiar voice behind her.

She turned her head to find Naruto just standing there. "Why didn't you help him Naruto!" She was pissed at him for not helping Sasuke. She yelled at him some more before Naruto found her presence irritating.

Naruto looked at her coldly. "Why would I even consider helping someone who disrespects me. He has done nothing to deserve my respect." He looked around before whispering something to Sakura. "If you plan on crossing my path as well, I promise you that you won't live to see tomorrow." He said quietly yet cold. Sakura felt the chills going up from her back and saw Naruto's cold eyes, his face showed no emotion. She looked away, she couldn't stare into his harsh cold eyes any longer.

She was feeling scared at the moment. "Sasuke-kun will beat you, just you wait you jerk." Sakura said in a low whisper voice. She didn't know if she was brave enough to speak back against Naruto or just plain stupid.

Naruto looked at her with an amused grin on his face "If he's going to kick my ass, then tell me why is he unconscious?" Sakura didn't answer him because she was unable to.

She gently shook Sasuke to wake him up. Sasuke felt someone shaking him as he woke up slowly. He slowly sat up and saw Naruto standing next to him. "What are you doing here dobe?" He glared at Naruto.

Naruto gave out a little smirk. "For a person that got his ass handed to him, you sure are quick to judge." Naruto replied calmly. "Why don't we work together to get a bell?"

Sasuke picked himself up slowly with help from Sakura. "I don't need help from a dead-last like you."

"You may not want my help but don't take your anger out on me because someday I might have to kill you _Sasuke-kun_." Naruto started to walk away but turned his head to look at Sasuke again. "Don't say I didn't extend my services to help someone weaker than me." Naruto disappeared, hoping to find Kakashi so he can get the bells. Sasuke gritted his teeth, not only did he not get a bell but he felt the power radiating from the blond.

'_I think he got the meaning of the test, but he didn't have to be so cold to them.'_ Kakashi saw the scene from his hiding spot. Two out of the three have already failed, he was just waiting for the last of his students. He couldn't sense Naruto's chakra signal anywhere.

As Kakashi was looking around in his tree, he was greeted with a fist to the face. "Boo sensei." Kakashi heard the greeting as he flew out of the tree, landing on the ground. Kakashi rubbed his face, trying to ease the pain away. '_Damn, he packs a punch.'_

Kakashi looked up to see Naruto standing there grinning. "Please show me a good time Hatake-san." He saw Naruto standing there. He noticed that Naruto didn't have his sword. "Where is your sword then?"

"I said show me a good time Hatake-san, not me killing you." Naruto replied in a calm tone, he wondered if his sensei is stronger than his nee-chan.

"Ninja rule #27: don't be cocky." Kakashi disappeared from the ground and appeared on top of Naruto, performing a leg drop. Naruto didn't turn around as he raised his left hand and caught his heel. Kakashi was surprised to see his student catch his leg with little effort. "I'm not cocky sensei, I'm just stating the obvious." Naruto threw Kakashi across the field hard. Kakashi landed on the ground with little effort.

Sasuke and Sakura was watching the scene play out from their spot. '_That dobe landed a punch on him when I couldn't even hit him.'_ Sasuke was carefully watching the match, angry at Naruto for hiding his power. '_I must have his power.'_

Sakura had her eyes glued on the match. "Kakashi-sensei isn't reading that book of his, does it mean that he's taking this seriously Sasuke-kun?" She barely heard a mumble from Sasuke. "Looks like it…" The two looked on as they saw both Kakashi and Naruto stretched before charging at each other.

Naruto dashed towards the copy ninja. Kakashi only saw slight blurs of the mysterious blond. Naruto appeared in front of him and performed a leg sweep only to have Kakashi narrowly avoiding it by jumping up but Kakashi was caught by surprise when he saw another Naruto jumped over the lower one with his leg aimed towards him.

Kakashi put his arms up to guard by pure reflex. '_What the hell? I didn't see him perform any hand seals.'_ He felt the kick forcing him back in mid air. He did a back flip, landing in a crouching position. "Ninja rule #1 Taijitsu" Kakashi charged towards him, right hand aimed to back slap Naruto but Naruto stepped back avoiding it, Kakashi followed through with a left punch.

Naruto dodged the punch and moved slightly to the right, allowing the punch to miss him. He countered with a thrust to Kakashi's chest, sending the copy ninja back, feeling the damage done by Naruto. '_Damn he's not bad. He managed to land a thrust to my chest. He's not bad at all.'_ Kakashi didn't have time to think when Naruto sped towards him, throwing a series of punches and kicks.

Naruto slammed his fist into Kakashi's palm, forcing him to buckle under the pressure. Naruto flipped over and slammed his leg against Kakashi's arm, which blocked it. The pressure from that kick caused the ground around them to crack. "Ninja rule #2 Kakashi-sensei, Ninjutsu" Kakashi's single eye looked in surprise when he saw Naruto over him with an expressionless face.

He saw Naruto explode on top of him. _'Bunshin Daibakuha' _Kakashi barely escaped that time. He had cuts all over his body and he was losing blood fast. His body was aching and he needed to end this fast. As he proceeded to put his hand to his hitai, he heard Naruto shout something. **Doton: Doryu Taiga **

Kakashi felt himself slipping on the ground as he saw he was unable to keep himself up on the mud. As he tried to regain his footing, Naruto appeared in front of him. Kakashi didn't have time to block as Naruto hit him hard in the gut. That caused Kakashi to lose his footing and slip onto the mud. Kakashi was beyond pissed off. This was his test to see if his team could be considered a team but here was a genin who had enough power to be a jounin and he was having a rough time dealing with the boy.

As Kakashi got back up, he tried to raise up his hitai but stopped when he saw Naruto smirking before disappearing into the wind. He reappeared behind Kakashi who managed to block due to slipping on the mud. A series of blows continued as each time Kakashi proceeded to hit the boy, he would disappear and reappear in another spot, like he was teleporting around him. '_How can anyone be this fast?'_

He was slowing down, he felt his reaction slowing down as Naruto landed hits on him. Kakashi felt his body crying out for defeat but he was too prideful to let a genin overpower him. He raised his hand to push the hitai up. "So that's the famous Sharingan. Too bad this is already over." Kakashi heard the faint whispers from Naruto as he jumped away from Kakashi.

Kakashi saw faint outlines from Naruto as he jumped away. The copy ninja saw Naruto opening his mouth but found no sound coming out of it until he realized Naruto was mouthing the words to him. _'You may know me as the demon but here today, I'll show you the truth.'_ He was surprised to see that Naruto already knew about his inner demon but to prove it to him? Just what was this kid trying to do.

Naruto let out a small smile before holding his palm out. Blue chakra began spinning in all directions. It started coming back together, forming a sphere. Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw it. '_Sensei's technique… Maybe I shouldn't have said come at me with the intent of killing me…'_ He was too shocked to move when he saw Naruto speeding towards him with the Rasengan aimed for his chest.

He closed his eyes and waited for his death. _'Am I dead? I didn't feel anything…'_ He opened his eyes to see Naruto just standing before him. "Why did you stop Naruto?"

Naruto only held out two bells before the alarm rang. "I passed. I expected much more from the famous copy ninja." Naruto took one last look at him before walking back to the clock.

Kakashi felt the breath that he was holding in gone. _'He's something else sensei.'_ Kakashi slowly felt the feeling from his legs coming back to him as he limped after Naruto towards the center.

As for the spectators that witnessed the entire event, they were beyond shocked. Sakura was trembling in fear. She was rethinking her ways about treating the blond genin now. She saw him go head on with their sensei and won. Not many people could do that.

Sasuke was sulking in his own world. '_How did that dobe get that much power? Why does a person like him get that much power when I need it?'_

"Sasuke-kun, I think we should head back too." Sasuke looked dejected for a second before complying. '_**Damn that Naruto, how dare he make Sasuke-kun suffer like this**.'_ Sakura was walking next to Sasuke quietly.

Kakashi watched as his two students arrived behind him. "Since you two didn't even get a bell and Naruto got a bell, you guys fail." Kakashi watched for reactions as he said his statement calmly. Sakura had her head down while Sasuke was gripping his fist. "Do you have anything you want to say to them Naruto?"

Naruto looked towards his fellow genins with a smile. They had hope in their eyes. "You turned down my offer, you wanted to do this yourself, well you can fail by yourself. I have no need for _useless_ comrades." Kakashi's single eye went wild as he heard the statement. It was true the boy passed his test but he was going to have to explain it to the Hokage why only one of his students passed. '_Damn it Naruto, you're not making this any easier.'_ Kakashi felt like strangling this boy but restrained himself.

"Kakashi-sensei, I know you wanted me to say the real meaning of this test but why should I when these _brats _don't deserve anything." Naruto answered coldly. Sakura flinched at his tone, tears forming at her eyes, her spirits sinking lower and lower while Sasuke was almost on the verge of killing the boy. "In a real world, people like you would have been killed over and over. You think knowing the answers to everything would get you out of a hostage situation? You can't barter your life with a stupid history answer. Get real pinky."

Naruto was not being subtle. He was mocking his teammates using their own strengths against them. "The great Uchiha, too proud to accept help. You are _nobody_ when your dead. Itachi would have killed you without a second thought."

Sasuke picked his head up when Naruto mentioned Itachi. He let out a low growl. "How do you know Itachi?"

Naruto stared coldy at Sasuke. "Don't think your in any position to demand anything from me Uchiha-teme. You are not worth my time _little one_." Naruto spat out venomously.

Kakashi watched the little verbal fight break out between his team. It would be good for them to let out their frustrations and maybe bond hopefully. He let out a quiet laugh. '_Is this my punishment for being late all the time?'_ Kakashi felt like his Icha Icha Paradise books were on fire as he watched for his genin team in agony.

"Damn you dobe!" Sasuke threw a fast punch with all the strength he could muster towards Naruto.

"Sasuke"

"Sasuke-kun"

Kakashi and Sakura were surprised by his actions. Naruto figured something like this was going to happen. He took one-step back before throwing his own punch to meet the Uchiha's punch head on. A loud 'crack' could be heard as Sasuke was sent flying back from Naruto's punch. His right hand was currently nursing his left fist. The bones in his knuckles were now crushed from Naruto's fist.

Sakura ran over to her precious Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, are you okay? Naruto why did you go and do that?" Sakura, forgetting her fears of Naruto, looked him straight in the eye. "Why did you have to hurt him?"

Naruto glared right back at her. "Why should I let him attack me? If you get in my way Haruno, I'll kill you too." Naruto started walking away.

"Maa maa, Naruto, you didn't have to go that far. Why don't you tell them the real reason of this test before you go?" Sasuke was too busy nursing his right hand before getting back up.

"Naruto!" Sasuke pushed Sakura away as he charged in with his left. Naruto turned around and was prepared to counter when Kakashi appeared between the boys. He caught Sasuke by the wrist, forcing him to stop. "Teamwork you ignoramus, a genin can not hope to best a jounin, this test was designed to have us work in a team to beat him but I gave you two the chance to work with me but you didn't so you don't deserve my respect nor my help." Naruto looked Sasuke in the eye. Sasuke flinched at Naruto's cold blue eyes.

"Don't ever cross me Uchiha or I'll make Itachi look like a little toy compared to me." Naruto whispered it to Sasuke. Kakashi groaned. "Naruto don't add any more unnecessary insults to him. So what will you do with the extra bell? Who do you want to give it to?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi in a weird way. "If you're still testing me, I could care less but I'm keeping this bell. _Nothing_ is keeping me away from becoming Hokage. I could care less if they fail." Naruto started walking away but stopped. "For the sake of this excerise, I'll give them my bell so they can pass but I'm warning you Hatake-san, if the Uchiha makes a move on me again, I'll kill him." He then disappeared into the wind.

Kakashi felt relieved. He thought Naruto would have been selfish but he gave up his bell. This means that they passed the test. '_I wonder if Naruto went all out, would I have been standing here alive?'_ Kakashi pondered on this thought.

"I'm disappointed in you two, letting your personal thoughts get in the way. Like Naruto said, you guys passed. Meet me on the bridge tomorrow at noon." Kakashi then disappeared in a puff of smoke. '_Must get to a hospital fast…'_ Kakashi was feeling the extent of his wounds now and was barely able stay conscious.

Sasuke fell to his knees. _'How does he know Itachi? I have to defeat Naruto if I am to defeat my brother…'_

_Hokage Tower_

Sarutobi was talking to several of his jounin ninjas about their day. He was eager to find out how the teams faired and if they were worthy of becoming a team. He looked around the room to find a particular person. '_I see everyone but Kakashi…'_

Silence filled the room when the door opened and Kakashi walked in with bandages all over him. "My hip rival, who could have done this to you!" Gai screamed out. "I thought I was your eternal rival!"

Kakashi sighed. "Not now Gai, I don't have time for this." Everyone looked amazed. Only a skilled person could injure the copy ninja to this extent.

Sarutobi let out a small quiet chuckle but everyone heard it. He only smiled towards Kakashi. "Didn't I tell you not to underestimate him?"

Kakashi only gritted his teeth to bare the pain. "Hai he was stronger than expected. I had to use _it_ against him." Murmurs started going around the room. They were looking at Kakashi and then whispering. Kakashi felt his reputation going down the drain.

The Hokage let out a small cough. "Now that we have all seen Kakashi, lets start shall we?" The people in the room let out a small chorus of 'hais' before quieting down.

Asuma stepped forward to begin. "Team 10 consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino pass." They were the second generation of the group combination that consisted of their fathers. They were supposed to have the best teamwork throughout the entire village. "Nara Shikamaru is unmotivated but I suspect he's a true genius. Akimichi Choji is a powerhouse. With his clan's techniques, he will be a great frontline commander one day. Yamanaka Ino has talent but she's still rough on the edges. She's er… kind of obsessed with the Uchiha boy…" Asuma scratched his head. He took a step back and lit up another cigarette.

Kurenai step forward to introduce her team. "Team 8 consisting of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino pass as well. Hinata lacks confidence but she has some skill and technique, probably because of her family's Jyuuken style. Kiba is an excellent tracker and rough on the edges. He has a great combination with his dog."

"Shino is the quiet type. It looks like he may be like Shikamaru who thinks his way into victory. His relationship with his clan techniques makes him a valuable member for this team." Kurenai watched for a response from the Hokage. It was her first time being a jounin instructor and she didn't want to mess it up. The Hokage gave out a small smile to ease her troubles. "Good job Kurenai-san."

Genma stepped forward after Kurenai. "My team failed, they didn't care much for being a ninja. I think it's better this way." He then stepped aside for Kakashi. Everyone turned their eyes for Kakashi. They wanted to hear the full story.

Kakashi felt everyone staring at him. He sighed and step forward. "Team 7 consisting of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto passed as well." Everyone gave Kakashi a surprised look. Anko was stuttering. "They…Passed…?"

Everyone knew Kakashi had a strict rule for his team. "Yeah… I gave them the bell test and they passed, or rather Naruto passed." Everyone still wore the shocked look on their face. Genma started laughing. "Naruto gave you a hard time didn't he?"

Kakashi glared at Genma before continuing. "Whoever wrote the reports on those three should have their heads examined. Sakura fell for the **Magen: Narakumi.** She didn't realized it was a genjutsu even after the test. Sasuke showed some potential but his pride and anger got the better of him." Kakashi paused for a second.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for Uzumaki's part. "Er… Naruto gave me the most trouble… I couldn't read my book and I had to pull up my hitai to use my Sharingan."

"The incredible power of Youths. The fire burns greatly in Naruto-san!" Gai was hitting his fist into the air.

Sarutobi only smiled. "I take it Naruto displayed qualities that exceed the normal genin right?" Kakashi looked at the Hokage. "He used the Rasengan on me…" Now even the Hokage was shocked. "Naruto's abilities is off the charts, he easily exceeds chunnin and could make jounin if he wanted to. I haven't seen this much potential since Itachi."

_'Naruto Uzumaki, what a strange mystery.'_ Everyone in the room came to the same conclusion. "I doubt I would be here alive if Naruto went all out. I underestimated him this time but I won't underestimate him again. Naruto's a bit too cold towards his teammates though." Kakashi was rubbing his arm while thinking back to their fight.

Sarutobi shook his head. "I expected as much. He barely has any contact with people his age. I'm sure you know the story Kakashi." Kakashi nodded his head. "Now that we heard all the teams, the ones that passed will begin their missions starting tomorrow. You're all dismissed. Kakashi, please get Naruto for me." Sarutobi wanted to talk about Naruto with his instructor, to let him know what will happen in the future. As the rest of the instructors walked out, Kakashi went to get the young Uzumaki.

Kakashi looked all over the village for his student. He checked his apartment but found it empty. He checked the food places to find him but he was nowhere to be seen. He went back to the training grounds to see if he could be there.

Naruto was at the training grounds sparring with his clones. Naruto noticed an extra chakra signal approaching him. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, What can I do for you?" Naruto didn't even turn around to acknowledge Kakashi's presence. He was too busy slashing at his clones.

Kakashi stood at the field staring at the massive amount of clones. "The Hokage requests your presence Naruto."

Naruto continued sparring with his clones. "The old man can wait a bit, I'm going to finish this first." He dispelled two clones with a swipe of his sword.

Kakashi shrugged as he took out his book and started to read. He found it hard to read when there was a blonde mystery standing in front of him. "Naruto, What do you think of being in team 7?"

Naruto slashed three clones before turning around. "Those weaklings? They would be dead before they step outside the village."

That hit Kakashi hard. He saw a younger version of himself in Naruto. "You know Naruto, you should stop being so cold towards them. They are your teammates and friends."

Naruto let out a small laugh. "Friends care about each other Kakashi-sensei. Those two are only looking out for themselves. If they don't care for me, why should I waste my time on garbage like them. They have done nothing to gain my respect and yet, they still mock me." Kakashi was about to open his mouth when Naruto shouted. **Shiranui-ryu: Kurayami Tsukkakaru** Kakashi was in shock when Naruto took out twenty clones with one strike.

Naruto put his sword away before turning around to Kakashi. "I am who I am Kakashi-sensei, I will protect those few people precious to me no matter what. Those that harm my precious people will be dealt with by me. I am the future Hokage. I am Naruto Uzumaki."

Kakashi showed a small smile from his student's introduction. "I believe you can do it Naruto." He was about to say some more when he saw the Naruto he was talking to disappeared. "Kage Bushin? Damn he got me." He had let a clone fool him. He started laughing as he made his way back to his house for a long deserved rest.

_Hokage Tower_

"I'm here Sarutobi-oiji. What did you want me for?" The Hokage turned around in surprise. '_How did he sneak up behind me?'_

He saw Naruto leaning by the window still, enjoying the calm breeze. "Why don't you use the door like everyone else Naruto?"

Naruto gave a small smirk. "I'm not like everyone else, you out of everyone should have known that."

Sarutobi shook his head, it has been a long day already. "So how was your exam today?"

Naruto gave him a small grin. "I told you I will one day take that title away from you old man." The Hokage smiled.

He was already glad Naruto passed but he was curious to know how he saw his teammates. "How do you like your teammates Naruto?"

Naruto turned his head to look out the window. "I'll be honest with you oijisan. If I saw them in the battlefield, I would have killed them without a second thought." Sarutobi felt the coldness in his voice. "I really hate people who look down on others. They don't really know the pain they're causing for others."

Sarutobi was feeling the pain and anger that Naruto was feeling. "Maybe if you let yourself be friends with them, they'll change their ways."

Naruto let out a small laugh. "With friends like them, I wouldn't need enemies. Why should I need friends? Hi, my name is Naruto, I'm the vessel for the great fuzz-ball. Seriously oijisan, do you think they want to be friends with me?" Naruto felt tired. He really didn't want to talk about this anymore.

Sarutobi wanted nothing more than to punish those villagers for hurting the boy he saw as a grandson. "Naruto, I know it's hard for you. I'm not asking you to forgive them, try to understand them at least."

Naruto stood up and sighed. "I have given up trying to change people's ways. When I become Hokage, they will acknowledge me, one way or another." Naruto stood up before nodding a goodbye to the Hokage.

Sarutobi gave him a heart warming smile as he watched the boy grow into a fine young man. "Be safe Naruto."

Naruto gave the Hokage one last smile before leaving. "I will, get some sleep old man." Naruto vanished out the window without a trace.

_Next morning at 8_

The trio minus Naruto was at the bridge waiting for their sensei. Sakura was looking better than yesterday. She was happy to have passed the exam with her Sasuke-kun. "Sasuke-kun, do you want to go out on a date with me after this?" She gave Sasuke her best puppy eyes.

He stared at her. "No." _'How did he get that much power? I must have it.'_ Sasuke was too busy thinking about the strength that Naruto displayed.

"Yo" Kakashi appeared besides the two.

"Naruto's not here yet Kakashi-sensei. Are we going to leave him behind?" Sakura asked her sensei sweetly. '_YES, we can leave that idiot behind. It could be only me and Sasuke-kun today!' _

"Maa Naruto, you have to stop hiding, just come out and be with your teammates." Sakura and Sasuke turned around to see Naruto appear on top of the pole.

"Pinky's hair color is a eye sore." Sakura threw her hands up in the air, threatening to hurt Naruto.

Kakashi only shook his head. '_This is going to be a long month.'_ "Your mission today is to weed Mrs.Daichi's garden." Naruto let out a small groan. Kakashi smiled at his student's misery. "Now get to it."

For the following month, Team 7 did nothing but D rank missions. Naruto was beyond pissed off. He was going to kill his sensei if they had just one more D mission. Sakura didn't mind the missions since she was near her precious Sasuke-kun. Sasuke had the same thoughts along with Naruto. His pride as a Uchiha was diminishing as he continued with these useless chores.

_Few days later_

"Raven in position. Target sighted, 10 meters ahead."

"Cherry Blossom approaching target, 6 meters and closing in."

"This is stupid. Target captured. Reporting back."

"Naruto, try and work as a team will you?" Kakashi sat in a tree reading his green book.

"Once it was okay, twice it became annoying, three times and I refuse to do this ridiculous exercise again." Naruto approached his sensei holding the cat by its neck. He glared coldly at the cat.

Naruto didn't even bother turning around to know who was yelling at him. "Naruto! You were suppose to work with us!" Sakura spoke up from behind him. Sasuke was in his usual brooding mood.

There was a limit on how much a person can take to her whining. Naruto's point was almost reached. "Shut your wide mouth for once pinky." He turned his attention to the cat again. "I can snap your neck right here cat." The cat shuddered at Naruto's cold gaze.

"Naruto stop harassing the cat!" He turned around and gave an evil grin to Sakura. "Then you want me to do it to you?" She backed away, far away from Naruto.

Sasuke walked up to Naruto. "I'll distract her next time so you can kill that cat." Sasuke gave the cat a sinister grin.

Naruto let out a small chuckle. "Your not bad Uchiha." He walked up to Kakashi. "I want a better mission now."

"Maa maa Naruto, all genin are suppose to complete a certain amount of D missions." Kakashi didn't even look up from his book.

Naruto let out a little killing intent, the cat froze up there and Kakashi looked up. "I'm not asking for you to let us, I'm demanding it, one way or another." Naruto said calmly.

Kakashi sighed. "Okay, lets go see the Hokage." Team 7 dropped off the cat at the Daimyo's wife. Naruto and Sasuke had a big grin on their face when the cat received a bone crushing hug from her. '_Serves you right you stupid cat.' _Both boys thought as they watched the cat squirm, trying to run away.

Naruto turned his attention to the Hokage tower. '_Old man, you better make it worth my time here.'

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_

Authors Note: I liked writing this chapter, and of course, the infamous Tora or the cat scene. Why did I have the Sakura and Sasuke bashing still here? It's because it is not the right time to change her attitude. Sasuke's still arrogant, i'll throw in another fight scene soon. Maybe after the Wave Country Arc. Depends on how I take it. Pairings will come in slowly as more characters are being introduced. 

**Techniques:  
Shiranui-ryu: Kurayami Tsukkakaru - Darkness Charge** - A sword technique that requires the user to invoke the power of darkness to enhance his power of the blade.  
**Doton: Doryu Taiga - **Earth Flow River - create a river of mud around the target.  
**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - **Great Fireball Technique - a big fireball  
**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu - **Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique - Rank D genjutsu. The one Kakashi uses in the anime as well.


	8. Into the Mist

Authors Note: Another week, another chapter. I would like to thank all the people that left reviews, they were all so cool. A special shout out to BooTheGhost lol, your comments are harlious, hate hate hate. Next story dedicatioin to you man. Remember the month of May is full of great things, Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End and MY STORY. More Details about it will be released in the next chapter. Finals is coming out, I'll try to bust out a chapter every 1-1.5 weeks until end of april, then its 2 weeks of finals. After that, I promise there will be a chapter every week or die trying.

Regular Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but I do now proudly own a special edition Tenro sword. Just a random thing I noticed when I was writing this chapter. In the anime, it was around episode 7-8 that they encountered Zabuza and its chapter 8 for me. I derno, I just found that cool. Maybe its just me.

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Chapter 8: Into the Mist 

It was late into the afternoon, which happened to be the busiest time for the market section of Konohagakure. Villagers and ninjas alike had places to go, places to be and people to meet. Faces were usually the same since everyone knew each other in the village. Daily gossip was always a favorite pastime for people.

The villagers had their sights on a particular group of four as they casually walked past the market area. Team 7 strolled leisurely through the market place as they enjoyed the scenery. Sakura was walking next to Sasuke, scaring away potential girls that she thought would have a chance with her Sasuke-kun. She was hoping that he would ask her out on a date one day. She was determined to be there when he did.

Naruto was walking behind the two, at a slower pace. The villagers were throwing unwelcome looks towards him. Naruto looked on stoically as he endured the glares. He avoided unnecessary eye contact with any villagers and continued walking.

Kakashi had his usual book out. Most people assume that when the copy ninja has his book out, he is oblivious towards his surroundings, leaving himself wide open. He chuckled at the misconception when several jounins confronted him about his ways. He merely told them that the book was only a distraction, whether they brought it or not, he didn't care. He had three things that he considered precious to him; Icha Icha Paradise, friends, and food. As the number one fan of Icha Icha Paradise, he would protect the book with his life.

As they continued walking, he kept his open eye on his students as they walked through the village. The glares that Naruto recieved were not unnoticed by Kakashi. _'It must be tough for Naruto to endure this.'_ He watched the blond boy with growing interest. He didn't know much of the boy except that he was exceptionally strong. He wanted to have another spar with the boy soon.

Naruto was casually looking around; he was feeling uneasy, as if someone besides the villagers was monitoring him. He tried to locate the source from the corners of his eyes but it was difficult. The glares from the villagers weren't exactly helping his situation.

Naruto slowed his pace down to matched Kakashi's before speaking in a soft voice. "Kakashi-sensei, I have to get something from my apartment first. I'll meet you at the tower in ten minutes." Kakashi nodded his head to let the boy go.

As Naruto walked away from the group, he bumped into someone. The girl that Naruto bumped into looked to be about his age.

Naruto looked at the girl, with bluish color hair, and mysterious white eyes, and covered in a white hooded sweatshirt. "Gomen, I wasn't looking at where I was going." He offered his hand to help her up from the ground.

The girl looked at him shyly, trying to keep the blush down from her cheeks. She mumbled something that Naruto couldn't decipher. He grabbed her hands and pulled her up. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"

Naruto could have swore he seen her mouth mouth but there was no sound coming out. "Excuse me?" She looked down at her feet before speaking up. "M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto found that name very familiar but he couldn't remember it. "So what are you doing here Hyuuga-san?"

Hinata was poking her index fingers together, trying to answer him when they heard a voice from behind them. "HEY, what do you think you're doing with Hinata?"

Naruto turned his head to see a boy with red cheek marks flying towards him. Naruto merely glanced at the incoming human projectile as the boy missed his intended target. Naruto grabbed the boy from behind and threw him against the wall, firmly holding the unknown boy's arm against his back. "Kiba-kun, ano… N-Naruto-san h-here wasn't d-doing a-anything to me… H-He was just t-talking to m-me." Hinata was shocked to see her teammate trying to tackle Naruto.

"Ow ow, damn let go damn it." Kiba was struggling against Naruto's grip, trying to break the arm lock but he couldn't budge against the blond boy.

"Grr Ruff Ruff" Akamaru was barking at Naruto. He ignored the warnings from the dog and firmly held the boy. "What did you think you were doing by attacking me? It's against the law to attack a fellow Konoha ninja." Naruto said coldly.

A soft voice spoke up. "I would appreciate it if you didn't break my student's arm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto turned around to see Kurenai Yuhi coming out from a shop.

"Kurenai-sensei." Kiba and Hinata were glad that their sensei came out when she did.

Naruto finally remembered where he heard these names before. It was during the genin team selection that he met the girl. Every time he would turn his head, he would catch the girl staring at him and blushing when he looked at her.

"Your student here jumped into a situation that he didn't fully understand. It would be wise for future references that he should learn some restraints before rushing head on." Naruto answered back in a monotone voice.

Kiba struggled some more. "You just caught me off guard dobe. Even weaklings get lucky." Kurenai raised her eyebrow at Kiba's remark. She was considering the boy's advice. '_Maybe Kiba does need some training.'_

Naruto frowned and applied more pressure on Kiba's arm. "It would be wise that you also learn some manners." Naruto looked Kiba in the eye. Kiba saw the harsh coldness from his eyes. It wasn't the eyes of a 12-year-old child; it was something more. Kiba broke the glance from Naruto and continued to struggle. "If you want to fight me Inuzuka, prepare to fight me with your _life_." Naruto answered in a cold voice.

Everyone felt the coldness of Naruto's voice. "Enough. Let him go now Uzumaki-san." Naruto shot Kurenai a cold glare before throwing Kiba to the floor. He nodded his head towards Kurenai. "Good day to you Yuhi-san."

Naruto walked past Kiba, who was currently having Hinata tending to his arm. Naruto found Hinata looking at him as he was walking by. He looked at her. "It's not polite to use your abilities to spy on someone like that Hyuuga-san."

Hinata looked in surprise when Naruto unveiled her intentions. "Gomen Naruto-san." Hinata bowed her head in apology. Naruto waved it off. "Don't worry about it."

Kiba looked pissed, "Hey where's my apology? Don't you dare walk away from me!"

Naruto turned his head to see Kiba trying to get up. "Be a good dog and let Hyuuga-san tend to your arm."

Kiba found himself blushing and stuttering against the blonde. "D-damn it! This isn't over!" Hinata's face was turning even redder as she saw that she had her hands on Kiba's right arm.

Naruto walked past Team 8, only to find Shino leaning against the wall. "Thank you Shino." The silent boy nodded his head before walking back to his team. It was by coincidence that Shino's bugs alerted Naruto a head of time about Kiba's incoming attack. '_Shino's not a bad person. I'll remember this favor.'_

Seeing as his problems were now taken cared of, he dashed off towards the Hokage tower. Kurenai turned around to talk to the boy again but was surprised when she saw the mysterious boy nowhere insight.

Hokage Tower

The Hokage Tower wasn't exactly the most admirable place. The room was a single dull color and it had only one window. Team 7 was standing outside the Hokage's door, waiting for their last teammate.

"Kakashi-sensei, why do we even have to wait for Naruto?" Sakura whined again. Sasuke had already lost count on how many times Sakura was whining to Kakashi.

"Hm… Did you say something Sakura?" Kakashi answered without looking up from his book.

"Argh Kakashi-sensei, put that book away!" Kakashi continued to ignore his student as she continued to whine on.

Naruto made it to the Hokage Tower with time to spare. He walked up the stairs and around the corner to find his team standing there, looking bored. "Yo." Naruto waved his hand walked towards them.

He looked at the secretary before waving. "How do you do Rena-san?"

Rena looked up from her work and smiled politely towards the young boy. "I'm fine Naruto-kun, here to see the Hokage again?"

Naruto raised his hand nonchalantly. "Of course. The old man needs a bit of me in his life or else it would be boring."

Rena giggled towards the young boy's action. Everyone in the village showed respects towards the Hokage and here was a boy who has no respect for authority. He was like an untamed beast, a rather cute one. She knew of his secret but cared less of it. "People are going to be like that when you become Hokage as well, Naruto-kun."

Naruto merely grinned. "I wouldn't expect much of it. Well, I'll take my leave now Rena-san, can't let the old man enjoy his day." Naruto gave the secretary one last wave before walking into the Hokage's chamber.

He turned around to see if the rest of his team was going to follow him or not. "Are you going to come or not?"

Sakura frowned, "The secretary said we have to wait to see the Hokage, Naruto. You can't just barge in like that!" Sakura pointed it out to her no respect for authority teammate.

"I can and will. Just watch me." Naruto opened the doors to the room and looked for the person he wanted to see. "Yo oijisan. I have a bone to pick with you." Naruto shouted into the room.

Sakura smacked him from behind. "Baka, I can't believe you just did that, and don't call the Hokage that."

Sasuke smirked, "How stupid can you even be dobe?"

Naruto ignored the Uchiha's comment and let out a little growl at Sakura. "Do you have a death wish, you eye sore?" He was rubbing his head, clearly oblivious that there were other people in the room.

"Naruto, what can I do for you today?" Naruto turned around to see other people in the room with the Hokage. "Old man, I demand something else besides these D rank missions."

Sakura smacked Naruto again. "I apologize on his behalf Hokage-sama." Sakura quickly bowed her head, not wanting to offend the Hokage.

"Still no respect gaki?" Naruto recognized that voice. It belonged to someone that he could never forget. He narrowed his eyes towards the old man sitting in front of the Hokage. "Ero-sennin! Did you get caught peeping again?"

Jiraiya jumped up and smacked Naruto on the head. "I thought I told you not to call me that, gaki." He glared Naruto in the eye and the two were soon locked in a staring contest. Everyone in the room excluding Sarutobi was surprised by their actions.

Sakura glared angrily at Naruto. '_Damn it Naruto, if we get demoted, I'm going to kill you!'_

Sasuke shot an angry look towards Naruto. _'Damn that dobe, he just doomed us to a year of D rank missions. At this rate, I'll never catch up to him.'_

Kakashi paid no attention to the scene as he gave out a little giggle to show his interest in the book.

Iruka sighed at the boy's lack of respect, "Naruto, show some respect to a legendary sannin!"

Team 7 turned their heads in surprised. Sakura and Sasuke looked in disbelief. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He was the last Uchiha, why isn't he getting some sort of special training? '_Naruto… Why is he always the one getting more training than me? I need the power to accomplish my goal.'_ He glared at Naruto while Sakura stood there shocked.

Iruka walked up and smacked Naruto across the head. Naruto let out a small growl, "What is this? Smack Naruto on the head day? I swear you all have a death wish." Naruto massaged the back of his head while he grumbled on for a few minutes before turning to the Hokage. "Old man, I demand a better mission."

Iruka looked surprised at the tone the genin was speaking with towards the Hokage. "Naruto, watch your mouth! Every genin has to complete a certain number of D missions." Iruka explained the importance about missions and what they do for the village. Sakura was paying close attention while everyone else was off in his or her own world.

"What are you doing back here Ero-sennin?" Naruto poked his sensei on the arm.

Jiraiya swatted Naruto's arm away."Stop that gaki. I'll tell you if you just give me a minute."

Naruto grinned at Jiraiya, "It better be good or else I'll end your peeping adventures for good."

Jiraiya reached inside his vest and took out two letters. "Here brat, tell them I'm not your personal slave." He handed the letters towards Naruto who gratefully accepted them. "Then I guess Araki-neechan will know what you did in her house the last time you were there." Jiraiya stepped back and paled. '_How did he know? I'm a dead man if she finds out.'_ "Let's not go that far, Naruto." Jiraiya put up an innocent smile on his face.

Naruto looked at his letters. _'One from Araki-neechan and one from… Hikaru-chan?'_ Naruto had a shocked look on his face before hastily opening his letter. He quickly read the letter and reread it again for a second time. Jiraiya slowly inched over behind Naruto and peaked at the letter.

Naruto had a smile on his face by the time he read it. Jiraiya noticed Naruto's smile and he thought this would be a great opportunity to get his baka student back. "So…Ero-gaki, did she send you any good pictures?" Naruto's face quickly turned cherry red, putting cherries to shame.

He quickly put the letter away before turning to Jiraiya. "Shizuka-san said that you better be keeping your promise. I wonder how I should answer that."

Jiraiya started laughing insecurely as he backed away slowly. '_Why must the fates be so cruel towards me?'_

Naruto didn't notice to his sensei's retreating form. "I'll give you the letters so you can return it to them, is that okay Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya nodded his head, glad that Naruto didn't push the subject matter any further. "Yeah, give it to me soon. You know where to find me." Jiraiya excused himself and left the room.

Naruto looked at the Hokage who was sitting there peacefully. "So, how about it oijisan? Make it worth my time."

Sarutobi thought about this for a minute before deciding. He thought about Naruto's abilities. This would be a good time to give him a simple test. "Okay, I'll give you a better mission. Iruka, hand Naruto a C rank mission."

Iruka was shocked. "B-but Hokage-sama" Sarutobi shot Iruka a look that caused him to back down. He handed Naruto a sheet of paper.

Naruto read the paper out loud. "Escort mission C-rank to Nami no Kuni. Better than babysitting that damn cat. I'll take it."

The Hokage nodded his head. "Tazuna come out, your escorts are here." Team 7 looked towards the door, awaiting their client.

A man who looked like he was in his late forties walked out. "These are the brats that are going to protect me? The shrimp over there would probably wet his pants when he steps outside the gates."

Everyone in the room became froze. All eyes were on Naruto. He had a small, eerie grin on his face. He gave the bridge builder a small smile before turning around. Everyone in the room slowly dropped their guard. The bridge builder was still alive and Naruto made no attempt to kill him.

Several thuds were heard a second later. Everyone except Naruto turned around to see what happened. Tazuna was against the wall, to be more exact, he was pinned against the wall with several kunais; some on his arms and legs and one just barely below his family jewels. The males in the room cringed at the sight, each imaging the fear that Tazuna was probably feeling.

Sakura smacked Naruto across the head for his actions. "Naruto no baka! Don't throw your weapons at our client!"

Naruto replied with a cold tone. "My weapons? I think those are yours Haruno."

Sakura looked skeptical until she checked her weapon pouch. She found her kunais missing.

Naruto's eyes turned red for a split second before returning to normal. "When you play with fire, you will get burned."

Everyone felt the temperature of the room drop. No one made a movement. None of them saw the quick actions that Naruto displayed while stealing her weapons. Tazuna took a deep breathe, thinking twice now about messing with the boy.

"Tazuna rest assured, I'm a jounin so if anything happens, I can handle it. I hope." Kakashi muttered the last part under his breathe as he walked out the door casually, as if nothing happened. Naruto followed suit. The other three was wondering how the blonde pulled off that stunt.

20 minutes later front gate

"I swear those two are always late." Sakura walked around releasing her frustrations.

Tazuna was too busy drinking sake to pay attention to the girl. He was still recovering from his earlier experience. Naruto… There was something odd yet familiar about that boy. He couldn't help but ponder on where he saw that face before.

"Sakura…" She turned her head towards the person calling her name. She gave Sasuke her cutest smile. "Yes Sasuke-kun?" **'YES Maybe he's asking us out on a date!'**

Sasuke looked at her, backing away slowly. "Can you please shut up?" Sakura nodded her head furiously.

In her world, she heard "Can you wait a while longer for me?" Yes, it is a weird world in Sakura's mind.

Naruto arrived one minute before Kakashi did. He had a stoic face on as he walked past his team and leaned against a tree, looking towards Tazuna.

Kakashi arrived in his usual puff of smoke, greeting his lovely team. "Sorry, there was a man who needed help with his telescope. I offered to fix it up for him."

"Liar!" Sakura screamed out. Naruto let out a little laugh.

Kakashi only smiled. "Anyway, let's get going." Oddly enough, that was the truth. He figured no one would believe the truth anyway.

Flashback

"Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya was at the local hot springs doing his favorite pastime, peeping. _He sighed. It was always interruptions, never any peace and quiet. He turned around to see that it was only Konoha's Copy Ninja. "Ah it's you Hatake-san. I thought you were the gaki again. What can I do for you?" Jiraiya gave the copy ninja with a look that said 'Hurry the hell up, the ladies wait for no one.' _

"Was Naruto just here?" Kakashi looked around for Naruto, seeing if he left a trail or something.

"You just missed him Kakashi, he was just here dropping off his letters for Araki and Hikaru." Jiraiya turned back around and looked into the peephole. Drool dripped out from the side of his mouth as he started giggling and writing down information on his notepad.

Kakashi let out a little cough. "Jiraiya-sama, I wanted to know how good Naruto is, seeing as how this is his first C-rank mission."

Jiraiya let out a little laugh. "Don't worry about anything Kakashi; Naruto's more capable than most jounins out there. Why, I dare say he is on par with you or even better. I don't know; we never went all out in a spar."

Kakashi had his jaw drop, even though it was not visible under his mask, he could tell that Jiraiya knew his reaction. "How is that possible? He's only a genin."

Jiraiya stopped looking into the peephole and had a serious look on his face. "The experiences that life throws at humans teach us so many things. You of all people should know that. Naruto is a gifted child but not in the way of a genius or prodigy. He never had anything handed to him. He always worked towards his goals. He is someone that will surpass any genius. I'll be damned if that boy isn't Hokage someday. Watch over him Kakashi, he'll make us all proud one day."

Kakashi was speechless. He didn't know what to say. "Oh by the way, when you see him, tell him to take it off."

Kakashi looked at him with a confused look. "Take it off? Take what off?"

Jiraiya turned around with a smirk on his face. "That's for us to know and you to find out. Now if you'll excuse me, my book needs to come out."

Kakashi immediately bowed his head. If it was for the greater good of Icha Icha Paradise, he would gladly leave him alone. "Thank you Jiraiya-sama, I will tell him and best of luck with the book."

Kakashi disappeared, leaving Jiraiya to his work.

Flashback End

Kakashi was, more than ever, itching for a rematch with the boy. As the group was moving out, Team 7 took one last look at Konoha before leaving.

Naruto saw the uneasiness from his other team members. "Homesick already guys? We're barely three minutes away."

Sasuke gave Naruto a glare. Sakura frowned, "It's your first time out here as well. Don't act so high and mighty."

Naruto only smiled towards her. '_If only you knew Haruno.'_

Kakashi remembered that he had something to pass on to Naruto. "I got a message from your sensei; he said to take them off." Kakashi gave Naruto a confused look. "Do you know what he meant by that?"

Naruto didn't answer. He had a little smirk on his face. "No, not really." Kakashi didn't believe the boy. A liar knows when another liar is lying. Kakashi didn't want to press matters any further and continued walking.

The group continued walking into the forest. The forest was a magnificent sight for Sakura and Sasuke, seeing as how they never left the village. The forest was dense yet sunlight still managed to find its way in.

Sasuke was walking in front of Tazuna while Naruto and Sakura walked besides the man and Kakashi brought up the rear.

Naruto spotted a puddle as the group proceeded further along the road. '_It hasn't rained in days. I wonder…'_ Naruto focused on his nose to increase his sense of smell. He sensed that something was down there. '_Genjutsu probably.'_

Naruto shot Kakashi a quick warning about the puddle. Kakashi took one look at the puddle and signaled for him to continue on. Naruto nodded and ignored the puddle as they walked past it.

The puddle began to disappear as the group passed it. Two ninjas, clothed in dark colors rushed towards the unexpected copy ninja. They rushed past him and warped their metal chain around the ninja.

"One-"

"-Down"

They pulled on the chain and ripped Kakashi into pieces. Sakura screamed as she saw her sensei killed by two mysterious ninjas. His lifeless body was in pieces, lying on the ground. Tazuna backed away in fear. He was looking for his bodyguards but only saw the girl screaming. He was crying to himself. _'Oh why did I get stuck with her?'_ He saw his life flashing as the ninja's ran towards him.

Sasuke immediately threw a kunai as the ninjas rushed forward. The kunai impaled itself along with the chain against the tree, forcing the ninjas to stop moving. Sasuke dashed forward and clothesline the two ninjas. The impact forced the chains to break from their gauntlets. They got back up slowly, with killing intent leaking out.

Sasuke jumped back in front of Tazuna. "I'll protect you with my life old man." He slipped into the Uchiha stance and got ready.

As the battle proceeded, no one noticed where the blonde disappeared. Sakura jumped back into the battle when she saw that Sasuke was the only one fighting. She stood next to Sasuke with her kunai held tightly in her hands.

The mysterious ninjas rushed forward, claws aimed to kill. As they got closer, a pair of strong arms stopped them. Sakura's eyes lit up with happiness when she saw who it was.

"Kakashi-sensei" Sakura sighed with relief as her sensei stood in front of her once again and not dead.

Sasuke looked at his once mutilated body to see it change into a pair of logs. 'Kawamari_? I should have known.'_

Kakashi had the two ninjas in a headlock and knocked them out by pressure point. "Great job Sasuke, you too Sakura." Sasuke looked away, not wanting to show anyone that he was pleased with himself. If anyone saw him smiling right now, his reputation would go down the drain. The extra training he has been doing was finally paying off.

Flashback

Sounds of metal hitting wood could be heard from the Uchiha district. Sasuke was training himself again, proving to his brother that he was not weak. "ARGH" Sasuke flipped over and launched three more kunais towards the tree.

All of the three hit the target dead center. He ran towards the tree, throwing a punch following it up with a kick. He should get some rest. He trained for god knows how many hours today, he knew it was time to quit, his body knew it and probably everyone that was sleeping knew it. He couldn't get over his humiliation from Naruto.

His brother and Naruto… Sasuke gripped his fist harder and slammed it into the tree, causing leaves to shake off. Before Naruto, there was no one standing in his way to kill his brother but ever since Naruto appeared, he found it harder. The mysterious blonde has hiding something, something big.

He dropped to the ground on his back; there was no one left for him. His family was dead; there was no one to go home to.

He wondered if Naruto was the same. He saw the dirty looks the boy received daily and yet he hasn't done anything to stop it. It pissed him off to no end on how Naruto and his brother were similar; the power, the eyes, and even their attitudes. Sasuke felt his chakra spike up for a second before calming down.

Sasuke closed his eyes thinking, 'It was a long week, maybe it's time to go to bed.' Sasuke eventually dragged himself to bed. He would need his energy tomorrow.

Flashback End

Kakashi took out some rope and tied them up against a tree. Naruto appeared next to Kakashi as he was tying them down.

Sasuke walked up to Naruto with a big smirk on his face. "Got scared dobe?"

Naruto glanced at him, "Petrified."

Naruto didn't give Sasuke a second look as he went up to Tazuna and glared. "We need to talk." Tazuna gulped as he saw the cold look the boy had.

"Naruto! You have no right to do anything with the client. You weren't even here for the fight." Sakura pointed out. She was tired of his antics.

"No Sakura, Naruto's right. We need to have a talk Tazuna-san." She looked at Kakashi then back to Naruto and then sighed. "Alright fine, have your little talk!" She threw her hands up in the air and sat down on the floor.

Naruto walked around Tazuna, like a vulture stalking its prey. "Why are the Demon Brothers here Tazuna-san? They don't usually take assassination jobs on unknown people. The price must be high if they wanted your head." Tazuna started to speak but was interrupted by Naruto. "It better not be some emotional story or I'll finish the job myself."

Tazuna backed away from the boy in fear, looking towards the jounin for help. Kakashi paid him no attention as he started looking away. He was pleased with the way Naruto worked. Ibiki could take lessons from this boy.

"Alright alright, just keep the boy away from me." Tazuna held his hands high up in the air. He sat down on the floor and took a drink of sake. "As you know, I'm a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni. Nami no Kuni is a small nation that's poor. We lack the resources to bring ourselves back up so I took on the project of building this bridge that will make trading easier." He took another drink from his bottle. "But there is a man-"

"Gatou right?"

Tazuna looked surprised. "You heard of him?"

Naruto shrugged. "He's supposedly a powerful shipping magnate that has many shady businesses around the country."

Tazuna sighed. "He came into our island and destroyed our economy by monopolizing the shipping routes that were essential for trade. That's why we couldn't afford to pay you guys any higher than a C-rank mission." Tazuna bowed his head in apology.

"Don't bow your head to me old man. I could care less about your personal agendas. You paid for bodyguards and we'll fulfill our contract. We don't go back on our words."

Sakura looked at Naruto with a surprised look, "Wait Naruto, you can't just make that decision-" Sakura got up. She was already scared from the earlier attack and didn't want to risk another one.

"No Sakura, we will continue this." Sasuke spoke up before Sakura had a chance to object. "It wouldn't look good if we failed our first mission right?"

Sakura sighed. There was no point in arguing with these two when they made up their mind. "Okay, let's continue this mission but please be careful Sasuke-kun." Sasuke nodded his head.

Tazuna was glad that these ninjas were not quitting on him. "Thank you. Oh thank you so much. I'll repay you guys somehow."

Kakashi stood there smiling at his team. _'They're finally bonding with each other. Naruto may be a cold person but his actions speak louder than his words.'_ "Now that we've decided, there's no turning back. Do you all agree with this?"

His students nodded. "Okay, let's go then." The group moved out, leaving a message for Anbu to come and pick up the Demon Brothers.

They continued traveling for several hours until the sky grew dark and it was time to set up camp. They decided on a spot in the woods, not too far from the main road to keep them from getting lost and not too close to the road where anyone can see them. Sakura and Sasuke turned in early, leaving Kakashi to take the first shift.

Naruto and Tazuna sat by the fire, enjoying the silence between them. Tazuna was still feeling uncomfortable being in the boy's presence. He took another sip of his sake, deciding if it would be wise to initiate a conversation.

"Why do you risk your lives for people who don't even appreciate the things you're doing for them?"

Tazuna raised an eyebrow. He would have never expected the boy to talk, yet alone ask a question. "I do this for my family. I want them to be happy. If it means to see a smile on their faces, I will go through hell and back just to see their smiles." Tazuna took another sip of his alcoholic drink.

Naruto pondered on his answer. All his life, he had only a few people who he could consider family. "Do you have anyone important to you young man?"

Naruto let out a hallow laugh. "Old man, the only people I consider family can be easily counted on one hand." Memories of the ones he cared about, memories of the ones he failed to protect, the promise that he swore started to reappear in his mind.

"Have I met you before young man?" Tazuna stared at the boy. He couldn't shake off that feeling.

"I'm just a young boy old man. You can't expect someone like me to be traveling the world."

Tazuna let out a loud laugh. "You don't fool me boy, those eyes of yours give you away. I'll keep your secret for now." Naruto walked away, leaving the old man to his thoughts.

Kakashi was leaning against the tree, listening to the entire story. He figured the boy needed more interaction with people. He knew it, the Hokage knew it, and everyone that cared for the boy knew it. The boy needed to soften his heart, to become more human. Kakashi walked away, going back to keeping watch around the camp site.

Next Morning

Everyone was wide awake from a night of sleep. Their nerves relaxed, feeling refreshed. They continued on with the trip.

While Naruto was walking, he felt a presence. He immediately withdrew a kunai and threw it into the bushes, almost killing the rabbit if the kunai was any lower.

Sakura ran over to the rabbit. "Oh you poor thing. Look at what you did you monster! Just because you hate life does not mean you can kill other living things." She was calmly petting the rabbit, trying to calm it down.

Naruto ignored the girl, looking confused. It was spring time. Why was the fur on the rabbit white? The rabbit's fur tells what kind of mood it's in. A white fur rabbit meant that it was still in hibernation and a brownish fur meant that it was already out from hibernation and hunting for food. Someone must have used a Kawamari on it. Naruto continued looking around while Sakura rejoined the group.

Naruto caught a faint sound of metal coming towards them. "GET DOWN!" Naruto shouted as he dragged the old man down while Kakashi pulled Sakura and Sasuke to the ground.

A large sword flew over the group, barely missing their heads. "Hand over the old man and I'll let you live." said a dark voice of the man who was standing on top of the sword.

Kakashi's eye widen as he recognized the man. "Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Oh? The great Copy Ninja Kakashi? The famous ninja who is rumored to have copied over 1,000 jutsus."

Naruto stepped forward but Kakashi held his arm out, signaling the boy to stop. "Naruto, stay with the others, I'll handle this." Kakashi lift his hitai-ate revealing the Sharingan.

'_What the hell? The Sharingan?'_ Sasuke was looking at Kakashi, puzzling thoughts going in his head.

"So that's the famous Sharingan I heard so much about. I wondered if it the rumors were true. I recall something from the Mist bingo book, they wanted your head dead or alive Kakashi."

'_Is Kakashi-sensei that great of a ninja?_'Sakura thought as she watched the two men talk.

"What is your purpose here Zabuza?" Kakashi stared at the missing-nin, not letting the man out of his sight.

"I was hired by Gatou to kill the old man. Hand him over and I promise to not kill you guys." Zabuza replied confidently.

Naruto chuckled. Sakura and Sasuke formed a ring around Tazuna while Kakashi stood in front of his team, not moving an inch.

"The hard way? Fine, I liked the hard way as well." Zabuza disappeared from the tree with his sword and landed on the ground. Zabuza performed some quick hand seals and whispered quietly, "**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu.**"

Thick mist started coming in from every direction. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura gathered around Tazuna, forming a circle. Kakashi stood his ground, turning his head, looking everywhere. His sharingan was useless in this mist. He couldn't detect anything. Times like this he wished his eye wasn't a sharingan but a byakugan instead. He sighed. Beggars can't be choosers here. He was trying to detect Zabuza's chakra signal but failed. He hoped Naruto had better luck.

Naruto was calmly analyzing the situation. Kakashi sensed his students feeling tensed. "Don't worry guys. I won't let my teammates die."

Naruto let out a little laugh. "Zabuza's known for his "silent killing" style. Silent killing is a method that requires the user to become quick and silent. He'll step in quickly and quietly and kill you before you even know it. In some cases, you would be dead before you even know it."

Everyone became tensed again. Sakura was shaking in fear. Sasuke was trembling. He found it hard to breathe. "Guys take it easy, small deep breathes." Kakashi shot Naruto an angry look. He was trying to calm the other two down and Naruto instantly brought their fears back.

"Eight places," Zabuza spoke through the mist. "Liver, Lungs, Spine, Jugular Vein, Carotid Artery, Brain, Kidneys, Heart. There are eight places that I can target and all of them are critical places."

Sakura started panicking. She couldn't move her body found it hard to breathe. '_Is this what a jounin battle feels like?'_

"It's over." Everyone turned their eyes to see Zabuza standing in the middle of the group, hands on his zanbato.

"Kakashi-sensei" Sakura screamed and before anyone could move, Zabuza swung. Kakashi immediately summoned chakra to his feet and dashed forward towards Zabuza.

"Arghh" Zabuza yelled in pain as he felt someone slam into him forcing him back. Kakashi rammed a kunai into Zabuza's stomach and forced him into the pond.

"Fool." Kakashi widen in surprised as the Zabuza he stabbed disappeared into water. '_Mizu Bushin.'_ Zabuza appeared behind him and smirked. He swung his giant zanbato once again with ease and cleaved Kakashi in half.

Zabuza stopped smirking when he realized that the person he killed in front of him turned into water. '_What? He copied my technique in the mist as well?'_

Kakashi appeared behind him with a kunai to his neck. "It's over." Everyone watching the fight felt relief. The mist was disappearing, seeing as how the mist required the user to be in concentration to sustain it. Kakashi had the upper hand and no one was going to die today.

Naruto was watching the fight closely. He felt another presence nearby but couldn't figure out where it was.

"Don't get too cocky." Zabuza elbowed Kakashi in the chest, forcing the copy ninja to step back. Zabuza jumped away while doing some hand seals. **Suiton: Teppodama** Zabuza put his hands to his mouth, water bullets forming and shot straight at Kakashi.

Kakashi jumped up in the air, avoiding the bullets. He prepared his own hand seals and shouted "**Katon-**" but before he could finish it, Zabuza appeared above him and slammed his fist into the copy ninja's face. Kakashi was sent straight down to the pond.

He slowed himself down enough to land on top of the water. "Caught you." Kakashi turned around and saw Zabuza finish a set of head seals as water rose up and surrounded him. "**Suiro no Jutsu.**" Kakashi stared at the demon from inside his prison. '_How could I have been this careless?'_

"RUN, this guy is out of your league!" Kakashi shouted to his team, hoping that they would get the message and run.

"Sorry Kakashi but if you only handed the old man over earlier, I would have let them live, but now, it's too late for that." Zabuza formed some hand seals and created some Mizu Bushins. Ten copies of Zabuza appeared and ran towards the group.

Kakashi gave the real Zabuza a sad smile. "No Zabuza, I feel sorry for you." Zabuza gave Kakashi a confused look. "Hm? What do you mean?" Kakashi only chuckled, "There is a boy that is even stronger than me." Before Zabuza could ask anymore, water splashed everywhere, his clones were dispelled. Zabuza's eyes widen as he recognized that technique.

A voice echoed the name of the technique, "**Shiranui-ryu: Tsuchi Batsu**" Chunks of rock came flying towards the real Zabuza but he knocked it all away with his own sword.

Naruto stood there, holding his sword on his shoulder. Everyone looked in surprise. Sasuke and Sakura were gawking at Naruto's sword and his abilities. "Why Zabuza, surely you remember me." Naruto shot Zabuza a cold piercing glare.

Zabuza didn't dare step back. His eyes widen in fear, he remembered the boy. "W-why are you here? You should have been dead."

Naruto gave him an eerie smile. "You should have made sure then." Naruto charged forward, towards the missing-nin. "Have you met my newest addition? Meet Tenro!" Naruto swung his sword for Zabuza's neck but was blocked by the giant zanbato. Zabuza released Kakashi from his prison.

Naruto appeared next to Kakashi, grabbed his vest and threw him back to the land. "I'll handle this Kakashi-sensei." The copy ninja could only nod as he got back up. He was shocked to know that Naruto knew Zabuza and the fact that Zabuza actually feared Naruto. "Lets settle this once and for all Zabuza."

Naruto swung his sword towards the man. Zabuza parried the sword strike and swung his horizontally. The two engaged in a sword battle while the others on the other side only stared.

"Who is Naruto, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura was putting the pieces together. No genin should have this much power to fight an A-rank missing-nin on even grounds.

"I don't have the answer to that question, Sakura." Kakashi didn't even look at her. He was too busy trying to watch the fight.

Sasuke gripped his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. '_I must have his power.'_ He was mesmerized by the fight; was he jealous of Naruto? The power that the blonde had? He shook off his feelings. No, he was going to force himself to work even harder until he can beat Naruto. '_One day Naruto, I'll beat you.'_

Tazuna was standing there, shocked that the boy can match the Demon of the Mist evenly.

As the people on the ground continued watching, Naruto caught Zabuza with a thrust to his shoulder. Zabuza found himself being pushed back as Naruto yanked his sword out from the wound. Blood flowed out as the wound opened wider. He followed up by a quick swipe to the head but Zabuza ducked and kicked the blond away. He stood up, panting for air.

Naruto stood in front of Zabuza, looking at him with his cold eyes. "What? Tired already? You have gotten soft in your old age Zabuza." Zabuza glared at him, panting for air. The fight was taking a lot out of him. If it was just Kakashi, he would have been fine but to find this boy here again was beyond fine. He knew he had no chance against him.

"Tired? No way!" Zabuza lunged towards the boy. He quickly formed a familiar set of hand seals and shouted "**Suiton: Teppodama**" Water bullets shot towards Naruto once again.

"Pathetic, is this the man you became Zabuza?" Naruto flipped through a series of hand seals that Zabuza didn't recognized. "**Suiton: Junsai no Jutsu**" A barrier of water appeared in front of Naruto, absorbing most of the bullets. "Where was the man that I respected?"

Zabuza growled. "That man is dead, brat. You don't know the hell I went through." Naruto focused his chakra into his right hand and rammed it into the demon's face. The impact sent Zabuza off of the river and into a tree.

Naruto appeared in front of the man, holding his sword out. "Then the last thing I can do for you is to grant you a quick death."

The rest of Team 7 was watching the conversation between the two. They wondered how Naruto knew Zabuza and what their relationship was.

Kakashi was already drained from using his sharingan. He pulled his hitai-ate down when he noticed something odd about Zabuza. He sensed an abnormality in the missing-nin's chakra levels. "Naruto Look Out!"

The warning came too late as Zabuza smirked and kicked Naruto away. He shouted "**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu**"

"Never look away brat!" Zabuza concentrated his chakra into the attack. There was no way the brat could have survived this. The water dragon rose up from the ground and charged straight at Naruto.

Naruto only shook his head. "Don't you know when you're already beaten?" Naruto concentrated chakra into his right hand. He slammed his fist between the eyes of the dragon, causing the attack to break apart.

As the attack fell apart, Zabuza appeared from where the water dragon was. "Don't count me down yet!" He quickly performed his final hand seal and concentrated hard. It was now or never. "**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu**"

Naruto stared at the huge amount of water coming towards him. _'Holy shit, that's a lot of water.'_ Naruto tried to move his legs but he couldn't move. He saw why he couldn't move. The attack from the dragon forced some rocks to be caught between his legs. He didn't noticed it until now. His eyes widen as he saw the attack hit him straight on.

"NARUTO!" Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 shouted. Thousands of gallons of water exploded on Naruto, hitting him so hard that he felt like getting beated with a thousand metal objects. He felt like a broken puzzle, being smashed over and over, pain shooting all around his body.

Zabuza stood there panting, his chakra levels were now depleted but he finally put one over the brat. Naruto struggled up to his feet. "Almost had me there, Zabuza." Naruto gave him a little smile. Zabuza couldn't find the strength to answer the boy. They looked each other in the eye, newfound respect for each other found.

Naruto went through a series of hand seals and held his hand forth in a Ryu seal. Lightning soon found its way onto the battle field. Naruto's hand glowed in a bright color, sounds can be heard from it. He shouted the name of the famous technique. "**Raijin Morien no Jutsu**"

Zabuza's eyes widen. He heard tales of this technique. If the brat was using this technique, it must have meant that the rumors were true. Naruto dashed forward, his hands held forward, aiming to kill.

Before Naruto reach Zabuza, several senbon needles impaled Zabuza by its neck. Zabuza fell down to the floor, not moving. Naruto cancelled his technique, surprised by a sudden turn of events.

A mysterious Hunter-nin appeared besides the dead body. The hunter-nin bowed his head. "Thank you for your assistance."

As the hunter-nin approached the fallen ninja, Naruto reached for his wrist. "What do you think you're doing, _partner_?" The hunter-nin looked at Naruto shocked. He attempted to remove the iron grip but found some difficulty.

"Naruto, you did a good job now let the hunter-nin do his job." Kakashi walked up to Naruto, his hitai-ate back in its original place. The other members were still with Tazuna, shocked at the power that he displayed.

Naruto stared at the hunter-nin. "This is my prey, if you want it, you'll have to fight me for it." The hunter-nin threw Naruto a bag full of ryo and removed the hand from his wrist.

Naruto smiled to himself, as he was turning around, he turned his head to the hunter-nin. "Tell him next time we meet, I'll kill him."

The hunter-nin immediately disappeared, knowing that his cover was now blown and the chance of escape was quickly diminishing.

Kakashi looked at Naruto in surprised. "How did you know that he wasn't a real hunter-nin?"

Naruto ignored his question. He was too tired to answer it. He felt his body ache in pain, his will to stay conscious quickly failing. "I should have listened to Ero-sennin." Naruto said to no one in particular as he felt himself losing consciousness while falling to the ground.

* * *

So what did you guys think? How does Zabuza and Naruto fit into the picture? Who are they Really? Will Sakura really figure this out with her large brain? All this and more in the next issue. 

Technique List: Some new and some old. Meh.  
**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu - Hidden Mist Technique  
Suiton: Teppodama - Water Bullets  
Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu - Water Dragon  
Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu - Great Waterfall  
Suiton: Junsai no Jutsu - Water Barrier  
Shiranui-ryu: Tsuchi Batsu - Naruto's sword style - Earth Strike  
Suiro no Jutsu - Water Prison  
Raijin Morien no Jutsu - Lightning Web Lightning Strike**


	9. Bonds That Tie

It has been a long week and I ran into problems with finishing up my papers. I'm not going to bore you with life problems. I would like to take this time to thank all my reviewers who reviewed. If you didn't get a response from me, don't think I didn't care or didn't read it, its because I was press for time. I only answered certain reviews for people who left me questions or wanted some chats, which i'm all good for. Anyway, onward.

Disclaimer: It seems like everythings being licensed left and right nowadays so I'm stating for the record that I don't own anything, except for the Tenro.

* * *

Chapter 9: Bonds That Tie 

It was always the same feeling, the warmth that darkness brought. People claimed that darkness was cold and numb but he couldn't disagree more. If this warmth wasn't darkness, he didn't know what was. He almost felt like he was in an embrace with his parents… How he longed for a family, the memories and feelings that the word brought to people.

Sasuke grunted in pain. It was definitely not one of his good days. He was stuck carrying Naruto on his back. Kakashi collapsed to the ground after the battle, stating that he was nearly depleted of chakra, leaving Sasuke the only one capable of carrying the blonde.

He looked at Naruto. No one knew anything about him. His mind was still replaying the fight from earlier. Naruto fought a high level missing-nin on even grounds. Anger started to build up as he recalled the jutsus that Naruto displayed. And where did he get the sword? Why did it look so exotic yet powerful?

There were so many unanswered questions concerning the boy. He sighed, he was getting a headache just thinking about it. He couldn't get his answers as long as the blonde was still unconscious. He looked at Kakashi who was using Tazuna as support, making small talk as they walked to Tazuna's house.

Silence surrounded the group as they walked, the small talk died out. Everyone had the same question on their minds, who was Naruto Uzumaki?

Sakura looked at her fallen comrade. "He's not by regular standards a genin like us and he knows Zabuza somehow."

Sasuke looked at her confused, "Not a regular genin? What do you mean by that?" Sakura looked at him surprised, realizing that she spoke her thoughts aloud. She felt her cheeks go red, blushing from embarrassment.

"You guys are only half correct." Kakashi spoke up, saving Sakura the trouble of explaining. She silently thanked her sensei. "Naruto has experienced things that we couldn't even begin to experience." Kakashi was thinking back to his earlier conversation with Jiraiya-sama. "It is our very own life experiences that make a person stronger. All the training that we do, the training that we receive and the jutsus we know will be useless if we don't have the experience to use them efficiently. Naruto has all of them which allowed him to advanced this far. At the rate he is going, I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes a legend someday."

Tazuna nodded his head. "You can see it in his eyes; the boy carries a burden on his shoulders."

Kakashi laughed silently to himself. '_If you only knew what Naruto was carrying.'_

Sasuke noticed Kakashi's amused look. "What's so funny Kakashi-sensei? Do you know something about Naruto that we don't?" Kakashi paid the boy no attention. The third's law was still in effect and he wanted to be alive for the next volume of Icha Icha Paradise. "Do you _really_ want to know what I'm thinking?" He chuckled evilly. Sasuke shook his head. It was probably best not to know.

Sakura was thinking back to the times when they first met Naruto. The blonde was silent except for the times when he directed his insults towards Sasuke and her. He didn't speak much about his past or the things he wanted to do. Even his introduction to Team 7 was short, he didn't give any interesting information except becoming the greatest Hokage and …

Sakura's eyes widened. '_I hate this village.'_ His voice echoed through her head. He hates the village. What if Naruto decides to do something to them? She decided to keep her thoughts to herself until she confronted Naruto.

After a while, the group could finally see a small town. Tazuna smiled, "We're finally here." Everyone looked towards the town, it felt different somehow. When you look at Konoha, you see people enjoying themselves, happy and lively but when you look at this town, it's quiet and gloomy.

The group arrived in front of Tazuna's house, all tired and ready to sleep except for Naruto who was already asleep. "Welcome to my humble home guys." Tazuna opened the door and ushered them in. "Tsunami I'm home." Tazuna yelled out.

"I'm in here dad." A soft voice spoke back. A feminine figure walked out from the kitchen. "Oh you brought home guests." Tsunami introduced herself and bowed her head. "Welcome to our home." She looked at the group. A man with silver hair and a couple of children. Her eyes fell to the blonde. "Oh kami, is he okay?" She rushed over, taking him off Sasuke's back. Sasuke gratefully released the boy, dropping him into her arms. He stretched his aching muscles, feeling glad that Naruto was finally off his back.

Kakashi waved his hand nonchalantly, calming Tsunami down, "He's okay; he just passed out from exhaustion. All he needs is some sleep and he'll be good as new." Tsunami sighed, "That's a relief; let's get him to bed then." Sasuke saw Kakashi giving him a weird look. He glared at Kakshi when he realized what his senesei was hinting. He just got rid off the heavy load and now he has to carry him again. Sasuke sighed and picked Naruto up once more, moving him into the spare room.

_Next morning_

Naruto opened his eyes, he didn't recognize the location nor did he see anyone from his team. He slowly moved his body around, which indicated that they were alright in case he had to fight his way out. He got up slowly and saw that he was in a small room. He heard some noises from outside the door. '_What a time for me to be without my sword.'_

Naruto slowly made his way over to the door, not making any noise as he moved. He waited until he was sure his guards were gone before making his move but he hesitated when he saw the door opening slowly.

As the door opened, Naruto jumped behind his so-called captor. He put his hands to cover the mouth and the throat. He was taken by surprise when his captor let out a scream. A very feminine scream. He turned his captor around and came face to face with a good-looking woman if he was into older women. Her scream was heard throughout the house. In an instant, he heard noises coming from the outside. "Tsunami what happen? Are you okay?" Tazuna came rushing into the room followed by Team 7.

Naruto backed away, trying to understand the situation. "Someone better tell me what's going on." After Kakashi explained that Naruto was in Tazuna's house and that Sasuke carried him here after he passed out, Naruto apologized to Tsunami for sneaking up on her. She told him it was alright since it was her fault for not knocking on the door.

Kakashi turned Naruto, "We're having breakfast downstairs, why don't you join us?" Naruto nodded his head. "Then we're going to do some training." Naruto raised his eyebrows. Kakashi saw the boy raised his eyebrows. "Yes training. Zabuza's still pretty much alive and kicking so we're training." Naruto let out a little laugh as he followed everyone downstairs for breakfast.  
_  
In the forest  
_  
Team 7 followed Kakashi into the woods, where it was abundant with trees. It was too green for Naruto's taste.

Kakashi stood in front of a very sturdy tree. "Okay guys, today we're doing tree climbing."

Sakura gave him a confused look, "But we already know how to climb trees sensei."

Kakashi gave her a smile behind his mask. "But not like this." Kakashi applied some chakra to his feet before slowly walking up the tree until he hung upside down from a tree branch. "This is Ninja Style tree walking." He saw the shocked looks Sakura and Sasuke had on their face. He noticed that Naruto was yawning. '_Hm… I might have to do something special for him…'_

"The point of this training is to climb the trees using your feet." Kakashi threw several kunais down to his students. "Apply some chakra to your feet and try it. You may not use your hands." Sasuke and Sakura picked up the kunais and tried it themselves.

Sasuke looked at the tree. '_Okay, apply some chakra and climb.'_ He concentrated some chakra to his feet and climbed. He climbed up about three feet before the tree cracked under his footstep and he jumped off. Kakashi saw Sasuke's problem. "Too much chakra and you'll be blown away where as if you have too little chakra and you'll fall."

"Hey this is pretty easy." Everyone turned their heads to see Sakura all the way up in the tree. Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "Oh? It looks like she surpassed the mighty Uchiha and the person who wants to become Hokage in this exercise." Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

Sakura saw the look Sasuke gave Kakashi. "Shut up baka-Kakashi-sensei." She didn't want Sasuke mad at her.

"Tch. I'm not doing this exercise." Kakashi frowned at the boy. "Won't or you can't Naruto?"

Naruto looked at him with a bored look. "You're just wasting my time here." Naruto grabbed the kunai and balanced it with the tip of his finger. "Being a clown won't help you in this exercise dobe." Naruto smirked at Sasuke. He walked up the tree calmly, still balancing the kunai. He walked up the tree and passed Sakura in the process.

He walked at the top and walked back down. "How did you like my act Sasuke-chan?" Sasuke glared at him, '_What the hell? I will finish this exercise and beat you Naruto.'_

Kakashi looked at the boy with amazement. '_He not only walked up the tree but focused chakra into the kunai so it wouldn't fall as well. He was doing two exercises at once. Amazing. I think his chakra control is even better than Sakura's. We'll try water walking then.'_

Kakashi jumped off from his branch and landed on the ground. "Wow, looks like your not just all talk Naruto. Sakura continue walking up and down the tree and Sasuke, continue until you finish with the exercise and you…" Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Come with me." Kakashi started walking, leaving Naruto behind. Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he followed the older ninja.

He smirked at Sasuke as he walked past him. "Try not to lag behind _dead-last."_ Sasuke glared at him with so much anger that if Naruto were a tree, there would be no remains of him. Naruto walked away laughing. Sasuke stared at the tree with looks of determination and ran towards it.

_Elsewhere in the forest_

"What do you want now Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto looked at his sensei with a bored look. In truth, Naruto wanted to be left alone so he can train without wandering eyes.

Kakashi answered him in a serious tone. "I want to know the extent of your abilities." Naruto gave him a little laugh, "You already asked Ero-sennin, you don't need to ask me." Kakashi gave him a surprised look.

"Don't ask how I know, I just know he told you." Kakashi nodded his head. "Okay do you know the water-walking technique?" Naruto nodded. "Then let's take it up a level, I want you do a one arm handstand on top of the water." Naruto walked over to the water and did his task. He turned his head and looked at Kakashi. "Now what?"

Kakashi answered him back in a sadistic tone. "Now the fun begins." Kakashi proceeded to take out several kunais and tied some string around it. "This is to build up your already large chakra reserves and improve your sixth sense." Naruto looked at him with crazy eyes. '_Sadistic teacher. Oh why am I always surrounded by them'  
_  
_Elsewhere  
_  
Araki was drinking her daily tea while enjoying the peacefulness. She let out a little sneeze. "That damn brat must be talking about me behind my back." She rubbed her hands together. "Payback is going to be fun."

_Back to the lake_

Naruto was still struggling to stay alive as Kakashi was having the time of his life. He was dodging Kakashi's kunais from every angle. He found this more challenging than the regular water walking exercises. Naruto kept dodging the weapons but he soon found himself getting tired. Then it came to him, the reason why he was using twice the required chakra amount was because he was enhancing his arm and standing on top of water. '_Oh I'm going to be sore tomorrow.'_

_Several hours later_

Kakashi made his way back to Sakura and Sasuke. It was fun training with the blonde. He had always wanted to do the things his sensei did to him when he was a genin and now he had the chance to do it to his sensei's son. Oh, revenge was sweet. Kakashi arrived to see Sakura sitting there, exhausted. '_Her chakra reserves must have doubled from the training today.'_

Faint sounds of kunai scratching against the tree could still be heard from the area. Kakashi saw Sasuke still going up the tree, his markings increasing each time he marched up the tree. '_What a scary bunch these three will become. Zabuza will have his hands full when we meet again.'_ He noted that their skills were increasing with each passing hour. "Okay guys, good job. Lets go back" Kakashi disappeared in smoke, leaving the others behind to wander back at their own pace.

Sakura got up slowly, trying to get the feeling back into her legs. "Sasuke-kun, lets go back ne?" She looked at Sasuke getting higher and higher. He left a final scratch mark before jumping away and landing on his knees. He was trying to catch his breath while mentally cursing his sensei for this ridiculous exercise. "Hn…" He slowly got up and walked towards the house.

_In the house_

Kakashi noticed that two of his students were here but didn't see the last one. "Did any of you guys see Naruto?" He received no answer, Sakura was too tired to answer him and Sasuke showed no interest. He sighed; it looks like it was up to him to search for the blond boy. As he got close to the door, the door opened and narrowly missed the ninja's face. "Woops, watch yourself there Kakashi-sensei, I might have broken your face or something if you were closer."

Kakashi frowned as he watched Naruto smirked. That was too close, too tightly planned. He was going to watch out for Naruto now. Naruto closed the door and greeted Tsunami. "Dinner's in a little bit Naruto, why don't you go wash up." Naruto nodded his head as he got ready for dinner.

_Several minutes later_

Everyone was sitting down for a peaceful dinner. No glares were thrown; normal conversation flowed smoothly; only because everyone was tired. Sasuke glared at Naruto, "Where were you all day dobe? Too good to train with us?" Naruto continued eating, ignoring the Uchiha.

A pair of chopsticks dropped to the table and a pair of hands slammed the table. "Why do you try so hard like that, even if you train, you can't beat Gatou's men! No matter how hard you work… or how big you talk! Against the strong, the weak loses!"

Tears dripped down to the table. Inari glared at Naruto. "You, Uzumaki, I hate your cocky attitude, how can you be like that?" Tears were dripping down the young boy's eyes. No one said anything and let the boy vent out his frustrations. "You think training is going to help you become a hero? A hero is useless and stupid!"

Naruto finished his meal. "Are you done whining yet? You're ruining my meal." Naruto put his chopsticks down slowly. "Are you that desperate that you have given up hope already?" Everyone looked at Naruto, wondering where he was going with this.

Before Inari could answer, Naruto disappeared and reappeared by the wall, holding Inari by his throat. Kakashi jumped up, he didn't even see the boy move. "Naruto Pu-" Naruto put his hands up, interrupting the copy ninja.

Naruto turned his attention to Inari. "Go on, tell me how much you hate me and how I'm going to die." He asked in a cold monotone voice.

Inari, ever since the time he almost drowned in the river, was scared of death. He has never been this scared for his life before. It was Naruto's eyes that scared him the most. They were so cold, so harsh. He saw the boy in front of him actually grinning.

Naruto started laughing. "You are just a pathetic piece of trash that Gatou probably wouldn't take the time to even kill. You are a waste of his time and mine. So why don't I do both of us a favor and kill you right now."

Naruto took out a kunai and slammed it into the wall, missing Inari's face by a few centimeters, nicking the side of his face. Blood started to slowly drip out. Tsunami screamed, fearing for her son's life while Kakashi and Tazuna dashed up to Naruto, trying to save the boy. Naruto saw their advancements from the corner of his eyes. "Move another inch and I'll kill him."

Kakashi backed away slowly. "Calm down Naruto. He's only a boy, he doesn't know what he's saying right now." Team 7 recalled the story that Tazuna told them about Inari's father. Sasuke and Sakura stood there, watching Naruto. They didn't want to move and cause Naruto to kill the boy, they didn't know what he was capable of.

Naruto's cold blue eyes never left Inari. The boy felt like he was staring into the soul of a demon. "Brat, you know nothing about a hard life. So what if your father is dead, is crying going to bring him back? I bet he's crying in his grave right now because you're so _useless…"_ Everyone flinched at the harsh words Naruto was throwing at the boy. "Why don't you actually do something with those hands of yours. If you die in the process, you could have said that you tried and died but here you're whining about your problems. Grow up."

Naruto held his left hand out and a scroll dropped down. The Tenro soon replaced the scroll and Naruto was holding the sword in his left hand. "Say hello to your father for me in the AFTERLIFE." Naruto swung his sword at Inari. Tsunami screamed while everyone rushed forward. Everyone stopped when they saw the sword stopping inches away from the boy's neck.

Naruto smirked. "That's the way to go Inari. You told me you didn't care but your eyes tell me differently. Consider yourself lucky. I'll kill you if you whine again." Naruto dropped the boy to the ground.

"Naruto! You're going to be in so much trouble for this. I'm going to report this…" Sakura continued screaming at the blonde for trying to assassinate the boy.

Naruto ignored her and left the house. Kakashi noticed that Inari wasn't shaking. A normal person who was in a life and death situation would be shaking but he wasn't. He was going to have a talk with the boy later. Tsunami and Tazuna rushed over to comfort Inari.

_Later in the night_

Kakashi saw Inari sitting by the docks, staring out into the vast sea. "Is it okay if I sit here?" He wondered how the boy was doing after the scene with Naruto.

The boy didn't answer him so Kakashi took his silence as a yes and sat down next to the boy. "You know… Naruto didn't mean to say all of those things… He doesn't think when he speaks…"

Kakashi still didn't receive any kind of response from the boy. "Ah… you know, Naruto grew up without any parents… without friends… without anyone." Kakashi thought back to twelve years ago… when his sensei was still alive. '_If only you were here to guide him sensei…'_

Inari looked at Kakashi, with sad eyes. "Don't apologize for him, he made me see something that I was too blind to see…" The boy got up and left the copy ninja alone.

_In the forest_

"Argh! Stupid people and their attitudes piss me off!" Naruto swung his sword at another clone, causing it to disappear.

"Damn them all!" He spun around and slashed three clones at once.

"They don't know the pain I feel." A clone was kicked up into the air. Naruto threw his sword on the ground.

"They don't know how it feels to be alone." Naruto appeared on top of the clone.

"They don't know what it is like to be me!" A rasengan formed in Naruto's hands. His eyes flashed red for a second. "**Uzumaki Raisen**!" He thrust the sphere into the clone, dispelling it before landing back on the ground. He surveyed the area, no longer was it a beautiful place for people to stare at natures finest. It was now a scene of destruction. Trees fallen, craters and debris everywhere. Naruto sighed. He fell on his back and closed his eyes. Sleeping his fatigue away and welcoming the nightmares back once again.

_Next morning_

Naruto was rudely awakened the next morning by a bucket of water. He jumped up, forgetting where he was and glaring at his practical joker. His eyes widen when he saw who it was. "You…"

_Elsewhere  
__  
_"Stupid Kakashi-sensei. What can be going through that mind of his when he's sending me out to look for Naruto!" Sakura had the task of looking for the blonde. No one wanted or seemed to care where the blonde disappeared to after his little episode last night. She recalled that no one mentioned his name after he left.

Sakura wandered around the forest, hoping she would see his dead body being eaten by wolves. She sighed. If only she was that lucky. She heard some voices talking near by and decided to see if it was someone she knew. She walked towards the voices and gasped when she saw who it was. It was Naruto and that hunter-nin from the other day. The one that Kakashi-sensei said was Zabuza's accomplice. '_Is he with the enemy? That means Naruto is with the enemy too! Oh kami! This is big, I have to warn Kakashi-sensei.'_ Sakura saw Naruto was laughing and rolling on the floor with the hunter-nin. That was enough proof for her. She instantly ran back to let Kakashi know.

_Back with Naruto_

"Haku you jerk! How long has it been since we've met?" Naruto had him in a headlock and was wrestling with him.

Haku was struggling to get out of the headlock, "Ugh, get off me dummy."

The boys were too busy wrestling to have noticed someone running away. After some more wrestling and Naruto getting soaked, Haku finally got away from Naruto.

"Take off that stupid mask Haku." Naruto got tired of looking at the stupid mask. He's been wearing one for most of his life anyway. Haku placed a hand to his face and removed his mask.

"Didn't want to scare you so early in the morning Naruto." Haku laughed.

Naruto leaned back, lying on the ground. "So how is Zabuza doing?"

Haku answered in a serious tone. "He will be okay, he's the kind of person that doesn't stay in bed long. He'll be up and ready in no time. Now my question to you is why are you here?"

Naruto sighed. "Long story. To make it short, those are Konoha ninjas and they're part of my team. I'll give you a warning though, stay out of my way so I can finish this mission." Naruto gave Haku a cold glare.

Haku returned an equal icy glare that matched the blond's. "We're also here to do a job. It looks like we'll have to fight. Don't come crying to me when I kill the other two."

Naruto let out a little laugh before it grew into a full grown laughter. "I wouldn't even cry if you kill them right now. In fact, it'll be easier for me."

Haku stared at him with a disbelief look. He noticed the changes that affected Naruto. "Do you still not have any precious people?"

Naruto shrugged. This subject would always somehow find its way between the two whenever they were talking. "The same as always, they can always be counted on one hand."

Haku looked at him with sad eyes. "Then you still don't understand Naruto." Haku took off, leaving Naruto alone to his thoughts.

_Back at the house_

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed through the door. Everyone was eating breakfast and jumped up when Sakura screamed.

Kakashi looked around the house. He didn't see any signs of an attack. "Are we getting attacked?" Sakura shook her head.

"Are we going to be attacked?" Again, Sakura shook her head. "Then don't scream." Everyone calmed down and resumed eating.

"Wait! I saw Naruto with the hunter-nin from the other day." That caught everyone's attention. "I was walking through a forest and then I heard some voices so I thought I would walk closer and find out if it was Naruto or not. When I got closer, I saw Naruto and the hunter-nin laughing and wrestling around, like they were old friends."

Kakashi had a skeptical look in his eye. He would have never thought Naruto was a traitor… Hell he didn't even like other people much and he would never betray his team. There was still a what if going on in his head. If there was a slight chance that Naruto betrayed them, he would have to request backup because there was no way he could match Naruto like this. "I highly doubt that he's a traitor Sakura, maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you."

Before Sakura could answer, they heard the door open and Naruto walked in. He gave them a wave before sitting down. Everyone gave him catious looks. Naruto noticed that everyone was tense and quiet. "What? Do I have something on my face?" It was a long minute before anyone talked.

"You're a traitor!" Sakura screamed out, holding a kunai in her hand. Naruto was taken back by the outburst. "What do you mean?"

"It's just like she said dobe." A voice spoke from behind Naruto.

He felt a kunai tip on his throat. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. "Teme, what do you think you're doing?" Sasuke held the kunai firmly at the boy's throat.

Kakashi wanted to smack them for their outburst. This was not the way to do this so he tried his best to not let the situation get out of hand. "It's not what you think naru-"

Naruto cut his sensei off. "Having the teme holding a weapon against my throat and Haruno calling me a traitor would really explain why everyone is giving me strange looks." Killing intent slowly leaked out from Naruto.

Sakura started shaking. '_This was worst than the time we fought Zabuza… Is he going to kill us?'_ Sakura regretted opening her big mouth without thinking about it.

Sasuke was feeling the full effect of it. He found his arms shaking. '_What is this feeling? It feels like he can kill me without blinking...'_

"So you saw me with Haku huh Haruno?" Naruto continued when he saw no answer from the girl. "I sensed you were there, only an idiot would miss your screams of "Oh Kami!" while you ran back. Everyone in the forest heard your pathetic voice." Kakashi shot Sakura a disbelief look. Sakura hung her head down in shame.

Tazuna was looking at the situation in front of him. The situation was so tensed that you could actually feel the tension. "Aren't you going to stop them Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi looked at his team with a stern look. "Put down the kunais now!"

Sakura looked at her sensei before answering, unsure of what to do. "But…"

Kakashi released some of his own killing intent. "NOW!" Everyone looked at the copy ninja in surprise. They never heard him scream before. Sakura and Sasuke put down their weapons hesitantly and sat next to their sensei. Naruto rubbed his neck, feeling good again.

"If you pressed any harder, my clone would have disappeared." A voice spoke behind them. Everyone turned around to see another Naruto standing there, with an impassive look on his face. They saw the Naruto that Sasuke had his kunai on disappeared in smoke. "At least with Haku, I know who I can trust or not." With that, Naruto disappeared.

Kakashi sighed. '_Great just great.'_

_Next Day_

Team 7 doing another day of guard duty. Any day now, Zabuza would be coming to finish off the job and everyone was tense. They could only hope that Tazuna finished the bridge before he came.

Sakura was yawning as she got bored watching everyone move. Sasuke was staring off into the river, thinking his own thoughts. Kakashi was too busy with reading his book to care what his students were doing.

Suddenly Team 7 overhears someone complaining about the thick mist coming in and everyone jumped up. Kakashi put down his book. "Everyone get off this bridge now. Tazuna come over here." Everyone ran off the bridge while Team 7 surrounded Tazuna.

"Hello Kakashi…" A voice called out.

"Zabuza, looks like you're here early." Kakashi shouted back into the mist.

Two figures appeared in front of the group. Zabuza stood there, holding on to the Kubikiri Houcho firmly. "You got lucky last time Kakashi."

Kakashi noticed the second person there, the same hunter-nin. Sakura's eyes widened when she recognized the boy. "I told you so Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi gave her a look that said to shut her mouth.

"Let's make this quick and painful." Zabuza flipped through some hand seals and shouted "**Mizu Bushin no Jutsu**" Five water clones appeared besides the group. "I'm surprised that you didn't train your group Kakashi. The boy is shaking over there." Kakashi turned his head to see Sasuke shaking.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm not shaking with fear, I'm shaking with excitement." The five water clones disappeared in an instant.

Zabuza scowled. "Looks like you have been training them Kakashi. No matter Haku will be more than enough for you boy."

Haku looked at the boy. '_He doesn't look like much, I'll finish this fast.'_ He bowed his head and disappeared.

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate to bring out the sharingan. '_And we don't have Naruto this time…'_

_Back in the house_

Two figures dawned outside the house, making their way in slowly. Tsunami was in the kitchen preparing lunch when she heard a knock on the door. She put down the knife and went to open the door. She was taken by surprised when her guests pushed their way in and tied her up. Inari ran down the stairs to see what the commotion was.

When Tsunami saw her son running down the stairs, she screamed for him to run. "RUN Inari!" Inari tried to run but Zori caught up to him before he got far.

"Waraji, what do you want to do with the boy?" The shorter of the captors asked.

"He said he only wanted one hostage." The taller man, Waraji, was holding Tsunami firmly. "Lets take him as well, with two, they wouldn't dare to make a move."

"Stop. Let him go or else I'll kill myself." Tsunami stood up. "If I'm dead, you won't have much of a hostage."

Zori laughed. "We have your son you know."

Tsunami, as a mother, feared for her son's life. "Please just let him go!" She was crying now, praying to god that her son would be unharmed.

"The boss said to do whatever with the kid so we'll sharpen our swords on his body!" Zori took out his blade and brought it down on Inari. Tsunami let out a scream as Inari closed his eyes.

"You disgust me." A voice rang out. The thugs looked over to see Naruto holding Inari besides him. "You okay Inari?" Inari looked up to see his savior.

"Naruto…?" Naruto nodded, turning his attention to the thugs.

Zori looked at the kid he just stabbed, only to find out that it turned into a log. "What the?" Waraji looked at Tsunami before she too turned into a log.

Naruto stood with Tsunami and Inari by his side. "You guys disgust me." He turned his back to them and looked at the mother and son. "Are you guys okay?" They both nodded their head. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. I saw their markings in the forest and decided to follow them."

As Naruto was speaking, he didn't notice the two thugs running towards him, blades aimed to kill. Tsunami's eyes widened when she saw the two men within striking distance. "Look out Naruto-kun!" She tried to warn Naruto about the thugs.

Naruto gave her a little smile. "It's okay, people who have their hearts filled with lies and deceit can't escape the Tenro." Naruto sheathed his sword and made a click sound. The two men fell on the floor dead. They noticed the clean strikes that the thugs had on them but what scared them the most was the part that they didn't notice Naruto taking out his sword.

"A hero always comes at the last second Inari. I believe that you have the will to change things. Don't ever be afraid of your dreams." Inari nodded and embraced his mother. Before he could turn around to thank Naruto, he was already gone.

_At the bridge_

Sasuke was battling the hunter-nin named Haku. Sakura was guarding Tazuna while watching Sasuke while Kakashi was engaged in a battle with Zabuza. '_Blast these ice needles.'_ Sasuke was dodging these needles for the past five minutes.

"You're not that bad for a genin." Haku created some more ice needles and threw them at Sasuke.

"Speak for yourself!" Sasuke jumped away and shouted. "**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu**" Multiple fireballs came flying at Haku. The hunter-nin jumped away, avoiding the fireball. "You're slow." Haku turned around to see Sasuke behind him. Sasuke threw a kick but Haku narrowly avoided it by twisting in mid-air. Sasuke continued his assault, throwing a spin-kick at him. Haku ducked under and was about to throw a left hook when Sasuke disappeared. '_Bushin?'_

Haku turned around and saw nothing. "**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu**" Haku looked surprise when he saw himself being pulled under. He struggled under the grasp of the boy. Haku focused some chakra to his legs and jumped, pulling Sasuke from the ground. Sasuke gave him a little smirk before letting go and performing some more hand seals. "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**" A huge fireball went straight for Haku. He gritted his teeth as he barely dodged the fireball. He landed on the ground momentarily after being burnt. "Its over." Sasuke held his kunai to Haku's throat.

"For you maybe. **Sensatsu Suisho no jutsu**." Sasuke was surprised as he watched the boy perform hand seals with one hand. Thousands of ice needles came flying towards Sasuke. Sakura who was watching the fight screamed.

_With Kakashi  
_  
Kakashi turned his head to see thousands of needles flying towards his student. "You shouldn't look away Kakashi." Zabuza hit him square in the face with the blunt end of his sword. Kakashi flew back and did a back flip, landing on his feet. He cursed himself for looking away. "You're student isn't fairing so well Kakashi." Kakashi turned his head to see mirrors forming around Sasuke. Zabuza laughed. "It looks like Haku is finally getting serious."

_With Sasuke_

Haku looked at the boy impressed. He escaped his Sensatsu Suisho with little damage. Maybe it's time to take it up a notch. Haku performed the hand seals and whispered the name quickly. "**Makyo Hyo Sho**" Sasuke was surprised by the jutsu. He saw himself surrounded by mirrors. "Hn, I don't need to look at myself."

Haku frowned, "Laughing in the face of death. You remind me of someone." Haku stepped into the mirror, surprising Sasuke more. He threw senbon needles at the boy. Sasuke did everything he could to avoid the attack but he found that he was getting sluggish. '_Damn it, I'm running low on chakra.'_ He saw glimpses of Haku moving between the mirrors.

Haku noticed that Sasuke was able to follow his moments somewhat. _'Hm… it's not good if he awakens his bloodline limit during this fight.' _He traveled through some more mirrors, hoping to see if the boy had indeed awaken his bloodline limit.

_With Kakashi_

Kakashi was having a hard time avoiding the huge sword. '_Left!'_ He raised his kunai to block a strike from the left. It wasn't because he couldn't dodge it, it was because it was powerful. "Your sword style is so easy to read Zabuza, it's only the power of your strikes that makes you strong."

Zabuza laughed. "It is you who is easy to read. I'm only stalling for time until your student dies Kakashi." Kakashi didn't take the time to watch Sasuke, he was not going to let his team die today.

_With Sasuke_

'_I can see it.'_ He saw his reflection from the mirrors and noticed his sharingan had awoken. He gave Haku a tired smirk. He had awaken his bloodline limit a bit too late. "The mighty sharingan… A pity that your life ends now." Haku transported himself throughout some more mirror and threw a barrage of senbon needles at Sasuke. He felt his legs giving out on him and was too tired to move. He grunted in pain when the needles hit him on his arms and legs.

_Outside the mirror_

Sakura screamed in horror as she watched her beloved Sasuke fall to the ground, pierced by needles.

"Oh that's got to hurt." Tazuna turned his head to see the blond hair ninja leaning against the rail. Sakura turned her head to see Naruto. "Naruto! You're here, thank god. Go in there and save Sasuke!" She pointed her hand in there and hope was written across her face, hoping that Naruto would save him.

Naruto laughed. "No." Sakura's face turned from shocked to angry. "Why not? Go in there and save him!"

Naruto laughed again. "I'm just a traitor. Aren't you afraid that I'll kill him?"

Sakura was surprised by his response. She didn't know how to answer. "Please… I'm begging you…" She said it in a low whisper. She fell on her knees, tears started pouring down her cheeks. She was torn between trusting Naruto and saving the boy she liked.

Tazuna looked at the girl, she was on her knees crying, begging the boy to go save the other boy but they were at fault here. They accused him of being a traitor to their group but the damage was done. He felt his heart shatter when she broke into tears. "Naruto…"

Naruto turned his focus to the bridge builder. "The way you're acting now makes you no different from Gatou. If you have the power to do something, do it." Naruto frowned at the man. "Don't go and talk to me like you know my life." Naruto looked at the crying Sakura. The pain that he felt inside his heart was telling him not to save Sasuke but his gut instinct was telling him other wise. It was true that they accused him of being a traitor but they were his teammates… friends perhaps. He sighed. This was why he did not want to be in a team.

"Fine pinky…" Sakura heard his answer. She looked up and saw the blond boy dashing off.

_Back in the mirror_

Haku watched the boy from afar. "Your eyes are impressive but it's too late for you." He reached back and threw another barrage of senbon needles at Sasuke.

Sasuke closed his eyes, waiting for his death. '_I didn't even get to kill him…'_ Sasuke waited for the impact to hit him but found that nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see Naruto standing in front of him. He felt the calm aura that was radiating from the boy. "What are you doing here dobe? I was handling this just fine." Sasuke glared at the boy's back.

Naruto took a step forward, trying to sense something. "Ungrateful teme. A simple thank you would have been fine. Just sit back and let a real ninja handle this." Naruto shifted his eyes around to find Haku. "Haku, why don't you leave the Uchiha out of this and we'll finish this once and for all." Naruto was on high alert. He hated Haku's mirrors.

"He is a threat to Zabuza and I can't allow that." Haku flung some needles at Naruto. He heard the needles coming and jumped away. He saw Haku appearing above him and twisted in mid air to avoid some more needles.

Meanwhile on the ground, Sasuke was narrowly avoiding the needles, no thanks to Naruto. As he watched Naruto fighting, he felt helpless, for the second time in his life. He struggled back up on his feet. '_No more, from this point on, I'm going to become stronger!'_ His eyes filled with determination, he was going to help Naruto out, even if it killed him. "Dobe move!"

Naruto saw the hand seals that Sasuke was doing and moved. **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** A huge fireball shot towards Haku as he was changing mirrors. He noticed that his outfit was burnt at the end. "I can see it Naruto. If you can distract him, I'll hit him."

Naruto chuckled. "Don't hit me then."

The boys looked at each other, nodded as if they were exchanging approvals before attacking. Naruto performed some Kage Bushins and charged while Sasuke hung back, watching for any sudden movements. Naruto ran forward and tried to destroy the mirrors. As Naruto approached the mirrors, a shower of senbon needles came flying at the clones, dispelling them. Naruto smirked as he ducked under and saw Haku dodging another fireball, this time it was getting closer and closer. Haku was never the one to focus on multiple enemies. He liked his fights one on one.

Naruto jumped back and stood next to Sasuke. "Can you keep it up?"

Sasuke smirked at him. "I'll last longer than you."

Naruto laughed before performing some more Kage Bushins. "Bring it on teme." Naruto rushed off, moving in random sequences to throw Haku off his aim.

Sasuke noticed that whenever Haku was about to strike, he would lean out towards the mirror for much greater speed. "Naruto, above you!"

Naruto looked up to see Haku about to throw his needles. He forced some chakra on his knees and jumped. Haku looked surprised when he saw Naruto flying towards him. He couldn't dodge in time so he took the hit while dragging Naruto down with him as well.

Before Haku fell, he saw Sasuke leaving himself wide open. Haku head butted Naruto, throwing the blonde away and threw some senbon needles at the unexpected boy. Naruto arched his head back and saw Haku's hand movements. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw who Haku was targeting. "Move it Uchiha!"

The warning came too late when the needles struck him through his body. Naruto ran towards Sasuke, catching him before he hit the ground. He held him up, trying to see the extend of the damage. Naruto had a look of concern on his face. "Stupid idiot, if you only moved."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto. "Heh dobe, a sad smile doesn't suit you." Sasuke coughed before continuing. "Kill Itachi for me will you?"

Naruto held his hand, "Don't worry Itachi is as good as dead." Sasuke felt his energy leaving him and his hand dropped to the ground. Naruto trembled, laying Sasuke on the floor. "You went too far this time Haku…"

Haku stood at a good distance away from Naruto. "I thought you said you wouldn't care if I killed them, what happen now?"

Naruto stood up. He was staring at Sasuke's lifeless body. He recalled the times they gotten into arguments, fights, and glaring contests. He would even admit to Sasuke that they even had a brotherly rivalry going on. The bond they had was now broken. Naruto glared straight at Haku. "I know what I said, and I was wrong."

Haku removed his broken mask, angry eyes staring back at Naruto. "You're just a hypocrite, you know that Naruto?" Haku charged straight at Naruto, catching him off guard. Haku threw a hard left to Naruto's jaw, sending him crashing through the mirror.

Naruto coughed up some blood. "Everyone has their reasons and I have mine Haku."

Haku appeared in front of Naruto and kneed him in the face, before picking him up by the collar. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't choose them over us." Naruto looked Haku in the eye. "People change Haku, you should know that."

Naruto brought his head down and head butted Haku. He staggered back but it was enough room for Naruto to rush towards the boy. Naruto pulled his fist back before throwing it straight at Haku. Haku felt the fist hitting him square in the jaw. He flew towards the battle that Zabuza and Kakashi was having.

Kakashi sensed something coming and jumped away. Zabuza saw Haku flying towards him and caught him by his shirt.

Naruto appeared besides his sensei. "Hello Zabuza…"

Zabuza sneered at the boy. "I'm going to have your head today boy."

Kakashi looked over at Naruto. He noticed the wounds and blood over his clothes. "Where is Sasuke?"

Naruto dropped his head but his eyes not leaving Zabuza. "He's dead." Kakashi's eyes widened. He heard a scream over the mist. It seemed like Sakura found Sasuke's body.

Naruto shook the thoughts out of his head. He turned his gaze at the two in front of him. Zabuza started laughing at the sight. "Those eyes, those are the eyes that I want to kill. You're finally back Naruto." He held the Kubikiri Houcho with his right hand, grinning. Haku wiped the blood off his face. He held out a pair of senbon needles. "Let's settle this once and for all."

Naruto pulled out a scroll and a sword popped out. He unsheathed the Tenro, before slipping into a stance. "Lets." Naruto charged in against the two while Kakashi stood there, watching the battle between them commence.

* * *

So what did you guys think? Next chapter should be up... I don't know, finals is coming up. 

**Uzumaki Raisen - A combination attack that kicks an opponent into the air and the user forms a Rasengan while slamming it down on your opponent.  
Mizu Bushin no Jutsu - Water clones  
Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu - Multiple fireballs technique  
Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu - Earth decapitation technique  
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu - Grand fireball technique  
Makyo Hyo Sho - Demonic Ice Mirrors  
Sensatsu Suisho no jutsu - Thousand Ice Needles**


	10. Clash Between Demons

Heres the late release of my chapter. I was bombarded with stuff that required my attention so the writing process was slowed down. I actually had to look for new proof readers because my current ones were a bit busy with school and stuff but never fear, they pulled through and I would like to thank them and the fans for waiting. I like to thank the people who left me all those nice reviews. I enjoyed reading them. Now as I said before, I would also be releasing my new story as well. I call it Trust and Betrayal. If you have the time, please take a look at it. Thanks again. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I own the swords.

* * *

Chapter 10: Clash Between Demons 

A chilling wind swept through the area, blowing away the mist that once covered the battlefield. It was no longer the natural gray floor of the bridge; it was transformed into something more. Blood was splattered all over the bridge and a dead body could be seen from the inside of what remains of an ice dome. Sad cries from a girl could be heard from miles away, mourning the fallen and above all else, you could hear battle cries still raging on.

Kakashi looked at his student; he noticed the change in his eyes. His icy blue eyes were now replaced with red slit pupils; definitely not a good sign.

Naruto held the Tenro firmly in his hands, calmly waiting for his opponents to move.

Zabuza started laughing, "Those eyes, those are the eyes that I waited so long for." Zabuza swung his sword towards Naruto.

Kakashi sprang forward, kunai in his hand, trying to stop the Kubikiri Houcho from beheading his student. _'Oh my god please let me make it!'_ Kakashi kept going until he saw that he wasn't going to make it. Lucky for him, the blade stopped just inches away from Naruto's neck. He didn't even noticed the breath that he was holding until he released it.

Zabuza looked at Naruto, who was calmly standing there. "Last time I did that, you nearly wet your pants."

Naruto retorted, "Last time we met, I could have killed you."

Zabuza growled at him and was about to lunge forward when Haku step forward. "Naruto, we can still stop this meaningless battle."

He was about to continue when he was knocked back by Zabuza. "Silence Haku. Don't interfere in something that does not concern you. I have been waiting for this battle for a long time."

Before Haku could reply, Naruto spoke up in a monotone voice. "This battle can not be avoided. You of all people should have known this." Haku sighed. He knew this day was coming. It was destined ever since they first met 2 years ago.  
_  
Flashback_

_Three years ago_

"_Zabuza-san, we must flee now." Haku looked behind him. He saw five hunter-nins currently chasing after them. They were running after a failed assassination attempt, someone from the inside had tipped the enemy off. They engaged in a battle they thought they could win but it proved futile. _

_Zabuza looked at his arms, they were already in bad shape; blood dripping from the wounds and his chakra rapidly depleting. Haku was faring no better. He had no more chakra left to take care of the hunter-nins. They stopped suddenly when a giant wall of mud appeared in front of them. _

_"Momochi Zabuza, you are hereby ordered to stop and pay for the crimes that you have committed." Zabuza turned around, he saw the hunter-nins already behind him. He cursed his damn luck. First, a failed assassination and now, he had to deal with these ninjas. _

_"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't let you guys do that." A mysterious voice echoed throughout the trees. The hunter-nins looked around, searching for the voice. The ninjas turned around to see that it was a boy with blond spiky hair, standing behind them but it wasn't the last thing they saw. _

_The boy smiled at them before whispering something. "**Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku**" The group saw a bright image of a red phoenix as it flew past them before falling to the ground. _

_Naruto looked at his sword and sighed. "Useless hunter-nins." He saw the crack on his sword before throwing it away. "Useless sword, they don't make them like they use to anymore." _

_Zabuza stared at the boy. The boy looked no older than 9 years old and he single handedly defeated a group of experience ninjas. He had his guard up; it could be an enemy in disguise. "Whoever you are, I didn't ask for your help."_

_Naruto turned his head at Zabuza before speaking. "You know, your head is worth about **¥600000 **ryo. I could kill you right here for the money." Naruto took a step forward, with a smile on his face. Zabuza noticed the boy's features; He had whisker markings on his cheeks and the most noticeable feature was his red eyes. _

_Haku rushed in front of Zabuza, holding senbon needles in each hand, preparing to defend Zabuza from the incoming threat. "First you guys tried to assassinate Araki-neechan and then you run like cowards." _

_Naruto took another step closer. Haku gripped his needles a bit tighter, feeling nervous as the boy approached closer. "When you try to hurt one of my precious people, you will deal with me." _

_Naruto released his killing intent; Zabuza felt like a little boy surrounded by wolves and death was surely to be upon him. Haku couldn't stop shaking, he had never experience this kind of killing intent, and it was full of evil and malice. Naruto began forming hand seals at a rapid rate and chakra began to build up. _

_Zabuza felt his heart rate rising; for the first time, he actually feared for his life. He was trying to think of a way out, trying to find something that he can barter with the boy. He noticed the sword lying on the ground. "Stop boy. Spare us and I'll do something for you." _

_Naruto stopped advancing and laughed. "Didn't you know that dead men can't tell any tales Zabuza?" _

_Zaubza looked at the boy, if he wasn't going to die this moment, he would have liked the boy. There was something about this boy that makes him stand out from the rest. "You heard of my name but do you know who I really am?" _

_Naruto gave him a bored look, "Does it really matter?" _

_Zabuza gritted his teeth. This boy was so arrognt. "Let us go for now and in return, I promise to teach you some kenjutsu." Haku gave Zabuza a weird look but kept quiet. _

_Naruto thought about this proposal. It has been a long time since he had another teacher other than Gensai and he had heard of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu. They were supposedly the best swordsmen in the world. He nodded his head, "Okay, but know this. Once we're done, I'll kill you Zabuza. I promise you." _

_Naruto turned around to take his leave but stopped. "Be ready in 2 days, I will find you myself for lessons." _

_Zabuza fell to the ground, feeling relieved. His life has been spared and now, all he had to do was train himself and the boy, hoping to get a challenge one day in the future. Haku let out a sigh of relief. Maybe this was a chance to meet a new friend…_

_Flashback End_

Naruto stared at his old sensei. Over the years, he hasn't changed much, still not wearing a shirt and still putting bandages over his mouth.

Zabuza smirked, "You're mine!" He blurred out of sight, surprising everyone.

Naruto felt vibrations all around him, like he was caught in a vortex. _'His speed... I can't see his movements.'_ He felt something cold cutting his cheek. Naruto ignored it while he kept his focus on finding Zabuza. He felt something warm dripping down his cheek and wasn't surprised to find that it was blood.

Naruto heard sounds of laughter echoing throughout the area before he felt something sharp cutting him from all directions. He quickly fell down to his knees, one hand clutching on to his sword. The pain from the wounds was taking their toll on Naruto. He slowly felt his energy leaving him. Naruto looked up and he could still feel Zabuza surrounding him. "You have gotten better Zabuza. I'll give you that-" Naruto stopped in mid sentence to let out a scream of pain as Zabuza slashed his back.

Zabuza reappeared in front of Naruto, "Did you have enough?"

Naruto looked up and gave him a smirk. "The fun's only beginning." Naruto vanished in front of the missing-nin.

Zabuza went into shock when he couldn't track the blonde's speed. Zabuza looked around. '_He's… even faster than me…'_ He caught sight of a silver material and reacted on instinct, raising his own sword to block. He felt himself being pushed back by the blonde's attack.

"Is this all you got Zabuza?" Naruto smirked, looking into the ninja's eyes. Zabuza growled and with superhuman effort, he pushed the boy back, causing Naruto to frown.

Zabuza strapped the sword on his back before performing some hand seals. "**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu**."

Mist once again, started coming in from all directions. Zabuza smiled to himself. '_There is no way he can best me at silent killing.'_

Naruto stared at the fog, keeping his senses at high alert. '_There has to be someway to remove the … That's it!'_ Naruto strapped his own sword on his back before calmly looking around. "You're always using the same tricks Zabuza. Please allow me to introduce to you one of my own original techniques."

Naruto started flipping through hand seals and took a deep breath. "**Futon**"

He held up the his final seal and whispered the name, "**Tsujikaze no Jutsu**."

Great winds came in from all directions, cutting through the mist and erecting a barrier around Naruto. Naruto closed his fists and pulled his arms towards his chest, which caused the winds to react to Naruto's movements.

As Naruto pulled his arms towards him, the winds pulled themselves closer to his body until it formed a sphere around him. Naruto looked around for a second before releasing the jutsu. Winds exploded from Naruto, leaving him at high speeds and rushing out in every direction. The mist stood no chance as the winds sliced through the mist and carrying it out of the vicinity.

Kakashi dropped his jaw at the new technique. It was something that he couldn't even do. He shook his head in disbelief. '_Naruto, the number one mystery. At the rate you're going, you might even surpass your father.'_

Haku, on the other hand, wasn't looking at Naruto but was looking past him.

Naruto turned around in time to block a swing from Zabuza. He smirked as he saw the condition that Zabuza was in now. The Demon of the Mist had wounds all over his body and blood covered his chest and arms. "That must have stung didn't it Zabuza?"

Zabuza sneered at the blonde. He thought the boy would use some kind of wind technique to clear the mist away but to turn the winds into a giant whirlwind and making them as sharp as knives caught him off guard. Zabuza looked at the boy; the previous wounds that he had dealt to the boy had now disappeared.

Naruto caught Zabuza staring at his already healed wounds. He whispered to him in a low voice. "Your title of Demon of the Mist is nothing compare to what I am."

Zabuza's eyes widened as he saw another Naruto jumping behind him, flipping through some hand seals. "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**" Naruto frowned when he saw the Zabuza in front of him disappear into water. '_Mizu Bushin? Then that means…'_ He turned around to see Zabuza charging towards him.

As Naruto prepared himself to leap, he found himself unable to jump. He looked down to see his legs frozen in its place. '_When did he…'_ His eyes widened when he realized that the water from that Mizu Bushin gave Haku the chance to freeze it.

Naruto growled, now he was stuck and he couldn't get into a proper defense stance.

Kakashi saw Naruto having trouble and ran towards his student. He sensed something coming towards him and jumped away in time to avoid the senbon needles from piercing his legs. Haku appeared in front of the older ninja. "I can't allow you to interfere with Zabuza-san's fight."

Kakashi took out a kunai and swung at the boy. "Get out of my way; I won't let my student die here."

Haku dodged and leaped away. "Will you please stop interfering? I don't want to kill you."

Kakashi gritted his teeth, the boy was getting annoying. He was standing between him and Naruto. "Move or I will go through you."

When the boy didn't move, Kakashi charged forward, hoping the boy wouldn't do anything stupid. When he saw the boy didn't move, he raised his fist and threw a punch towards Haku.

Haku saw the fist coming towards him in slow motion. He stopped the punch with his senbon needles.

Kakashi was surprised when he saw his punch being stopped by pieces of metal. '_Just who is this boy?'_ Kakashi jumped over the boy and performed a roundhouse kick aimed for his head.

Haku ducked under and rolled away. As he got back on his feet, he quickly threw some needles towards Kakashi before leaping up.

Kakashi quickly deflected the attack from the boy and saw Haku in midair. He saw this as an opportunity to knock the boy out without wasting anymore chakra. As Kakashi prepared himself to perform a jutsu, he was stopped short when more needles came flying towards him. Kakashi jumped up, only to meet Haku half way up.

As Haku was coming down, he whispered to Kakashi. "You should have taken my warning Kakashi-san. I don't want to kill someone who is precious to Naruto."

Kakashi saw the boy performing hand seals with one hand. '_He's doing it one handed. __Unbelievable _.'

Haku finished his jutsu and aimed it towards Kakashi. **"Sensatsu Suisho no jutsu." **

Thousnads of ice needles came flying towards Kakashi. Kakashi narrowed his eyes before going through his own hand seals to counter it. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.**" Kakashi produced a giant fireball that met the attack head on. The collision between the fire and ice resulted with the birth of steam. Both ninjas landed on the ground, each waiting for the other to move.

Kakashi, wasting no time, took the initiative. He pulled out a scroll and wiped some blood over it before slamming it to the ground. Kakashi concentrated some chakra and shouted, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu."**

Haku felt chakra being released but he saw nothing coming out from the scroll. Just as Haku stepped forward, several dogs of all sizes, popped up from the ground and tackled him; each of them biting him on the limbs, leaving him immobilized. Kakashi got back up and looked at the boy, "It's over."

Naruto mentally cursed the day Haku learned how to freeze water. He had his legs frozen to the ground, which left him almost defenseless. Zabuza saw that Naruto was defenseless and continued to pummel him. Naruto tried to fight back but with his legs stuck in one place, he couldn't maintain his balance to throw an equally powerful strike back. Zabuza wasn't giving him enough time to remove the ice and if he forcefully removed the ice, it would rip off a piece of him as well. '_Damn that kekkei genkai of Haku's. Guess it's time to show him how much I've improved.'_

Naruto saw Zabuza with a sadistic smile under his bandages as he prepared the final strike. "It's over!" He swung the sword towards Naruto's head as Kakashi and Haku stood there as it came closer and closer. Naruto closed his eyes and prepared for it. As the sword came closer and moved faster, Kakashi screamed at Naruto to open his eyes.

As the sword came even closer, Naruto raised his hand and caught the sword. Zabuza frowned and continued to push but it wouldn't budge. Naruto opened his eyes, "Yes It's over."

Chakra soon exploded from Naruto, blasting Zabuza away if he wasn't holding on to his sword. He tried yanking the sword out from Naruto but the boy wouldn't let go. The chakra didn't slow down and it began to release faster. Zabuza had no choice but to jump away for his own safety. Exposure to chakra from that close wasn't good for his health. Naruto looked at Zabuza and grinned. "You wanted me at my best? Well you got it." Naruto slammed the Kubikiri Houcho into the ground and held his hands together, forming the boar seal. "**Biju Houshutsu: Level 1**"

Kakashi felt the huge chakra signature being released and stared at Naruto. '_Is the seal broken? This isn't good._' If the seal broke, they would have more than a couple of missing-nins on their hands. Kakashi needed to finish this fight and go help contain Naruto if worst came to worst. "You gave me a great fight Haku but I must finish this."

Kakashi performed three hand seals and concentrated chakra to his hand. Haku stared at the ninja as visible chakra began to form around his hand. "I'm sorry Zabuza-san that I couldn't help you achieve your dream." Haku whispered quietly into the wind.

Kakashi looked up at the boy, it was a pity, he was so young and yet so talented. He felt that he needed to say something to the boy. "My name is Hatake Kakashi and this is my original technique, the Chidori. It was an honor to do battle with you." As he ran towards the boy, Haku closed his eyes and waited for death to claim his soul.

Naruto stretched his arms and looked around. He could feel the chakra circulating through his body once more. Naruto sensed a huge amount of chakra coming from Kakashi and saw that he had some kind of technique going on and was charging straight at Haku. Wasting no time, Naruto shunshin from his area and in front of Haku.

Kakashi was in for a shock when he saw Naruto standing in front of Haku. He couldn't stop himself in time and he tried to move his arm some place else but he couldn't. Kakashi was even more surprised when he saw Naruto stopping his attack with just one hand. He caught Kakashi by the wrist and pushed him back, away from Haku. Kakashi released the Chidori as he glared at Naruto. "What do you think you're doing Naruto?"

"Fulfilling a promise." Naruto answered back.

Kakashi felt the calm aura emitting from Naruto. Naruto waved his arm over the dogs that held Haku down and they disappeared. "Haku, my debt to you is now repaid."

Haku looked up at the younger boy, "You still don't get it do you?" Haku shook his head sadly. "Why are you so afraid of letting people form bonds with you Naruto? It is these types of bonds that will only make you stronger, not weaker. Don't be afraid to embrace them."

Naruto sighed, maybe it was time for a change. Naruto didn't have time to think when he saw Zabuza charging straight for him. Haku saw Zabuza charge away with Naruto. "Stop Zabuza-san! We don't have to fight anymore."

Kakashi put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's useless. Zabuza has lost all reasoning, all we can do now is believe in Naruto and hope he can bring peace to Zabuza.."

Naruto struggled to get out of Zabuza's grasp. "Let go of me!" Zabuza paid no attention to the blonde and continued to drag the boy into the ground.

When Naruto saw that he couldn't get out, he dug his heels deep into the ground and tried to stop. Zabuza found himself slowing down and soon was unable to budge against the boy. "Stop running and fight me! I waited for this day for a long time." Zabuza tried to slash Naruto but failed when Naruto quickly removed the Tenro from his back and countered with his own slash.

Naruto found himself in a lock of brute power between the missing-nin. He looked into the eyes of the former swordsmen. "You were not the man I once respected Zabuza. You've become something that you yourself swore that you would never become. You're becoming just like that Mizukage Zabuza. I can't let you be like him. I will kill you before you do. Leave this world with no regrets!" Naruto pushed the sword away and landed a kick flip on Zabuza before charging in. Naruto gripped his sword tightly and executed his technique. "**Shiranui-ryu: Kurayami Tsukkakaru" **

"It's not over yet!" Zabuza managed to block the attack with his own sword. Each side struggling for dominance but stopped at a stalemate.

Zabuza saw a slip in the boy's stance and decided to gamble everything on the last push. "I have you now!" Zabuza pushed in and slashed the sword away from Naruto's hands. Naruto saw his sword slip out from his hands and the Kubikiri Houcho inches away from his neck.

Naruto placed his hands on both sides of the sword and smiled. "Game over." Zabuza's eyes widen as blue balls of swirling chakra appeared from both of Naruto's palm. He calmly placed both of his hands over the sword. As Naruto pushed his hands which contained the balls of chakra into the sword, he whispered the name of the famed technique. "**Rasengan.**"

As the jutsu came closer and closer to the sword, everyone stood there, watching to see what was going to happen. Zabuza had the honor of watching his precious sword, in the process of being turned into many pieces of scrap metal. As the Rasengans finally came on contact with the sword, Zabuza's eyes widen as the explosion happened in front of his eyes. When the dust cleared, Naruto stood above a fallen Zabuza, clutching his sides and breathing slowly. "This match goes to me you stubborn fool."

Kakashi and Haku walked over to Naruto slowly, looking at the damage caused from that attack. To everyone's surprise, the sword was split in half, not into many pieces. The bridge was not in great condition anymore, it looked more of a battlefield.

Haku walked over to Zabuza, trying to see if he was dead or alive. Naruto saw the worried look on Haku's face. "Don't worry, I didn't kill him." Haku sighed with relief. Zabuza was just unconscious.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, "Aren't you going to explain yourself?"

Naruto retorted a laugh. "In due time."

The group heard a voice call out to them. "Oi guys!" They turned their heads to see Tazuna walking slowly towards them, carrying Sasuke in his arms and Sakura walking slowly behind him. Kakashi hung his head down with regret. He had failed to protect his team.

As Tazuna dropped Sasuke next to Zabuza, Sakura looked at Naruto and saw his eyes. They were no longer blue but now a red color. "You promised you would have saved him!"

Naruto looked at Sakura, "I know but-"

Naruto never got to finish that sentence as Sakura slapped him. "How could you? Why couldn't you have died instead of him!" Sakura raised her hand to slap him again and Naruto stood there, waiting for it to come but it never did.

Haku intercepted her hand and threw her to the ground. "Naruto, why are you letting her abuse you like this? The Naruto I knew wouldn't take abuse from _anyone_."

Naruto walked away, letting his thoughts be his only company. As Naruto walked a couple of steps, he saw a crowd of people coming towards them. As they got closer, Naruto stood there, wondering who they were. "So the mighty Demon of the Mist got beaten huh?" The man laughed and the rest of his men followed his example. "At least now, I won't have to pay him." The man laughed again.

Tazuna, realizing who that man was, stepped back and fell down in fear. "G-Gatou!"

Naruto looked at the small man. "So that's the mighty Gatou."

Haku stared at the short man, eyes portraying his anger. "How dare you make fun of Zabuza-san like that!" Haku charged straight at the man but he was knocked back by Naruto.

"Leave this man to me." Haku slowly nodded, wondering how Naruto was able to move from that side of the bridge to this side in a short amount of time. Naruto walked closer to the man, "So you're the infamous Gatou." Gatou's men raised their weapons to defend their boss.

Gatou raised his hand, signaling his men to lower their weapons. "So you heard of me? Who are you boy?"

Naruto smiled, "You may have heard of me, I'm Naruto Uzumaki of the Denkou Clan."

Gatou's eyes widened, The Denkou clan was famous for their reputation of having strong clan members. Maybe he could hire this boy as well. "I heard of your clan boy, how about you come work for me? I'll reward you with riches beyond your dreams."

Naruto thought about it for a minute. "Sure. Why not." Everyone's eyes widened when they heard Naruto siding with the enemy.

Gatou only laughed. "Great. For your first job, kill them all!" He pointed straight at the group of ninjas.

Naruto grinned, "With pleasure." He performed some hand seals and shouted, "**Kage Bushin no Jutsu**." Twenty Narutos appeared next to him.

Kakashi groaned, "Everyone get ready." He raised his Kunai. He knew it himself, the gods even knew it themselves. He can't beat Naruto in this condition. Haku struggled to summon some chakra but was unable to. Sakura found herself shaking and Tazuna had his mouth opened, wondering how this happened.

The army of Narutos began charging towards them but soon stopped. Gatou frowned, "Why the hell did you stop? I said kill them!"

Naruto turned around, dismissing his clones. "Gatou, head of a major shipping company and current mafia boss of this town."

Gatou started backing away as Naruto walked towards the man. "Gatou, the man responsible for hiring people to take out Araki Tenjin a couple of years back."

Gatou began to sweat, '_Who is this boy? I spent years covering up my tracks. Someone must have talked.'_

Naruto continued on with this analysis of the man. "I finally found out who hired Zabuza and Haku for that assassination. You're a slippery worm, you know that? You killed so many people just to cover your own trail." He stopped short in front of the man, hands by his side.

Gatou realized that the boy was going to attack him. He wasn't going to die today. Hell no, he made it this far and he wasn't going to die to some young punk. "Kill the boy and I'll pay you guys tripled!" He shouted to his army. He smiled, he'd liked to see the boy get out of this one.

A chorus of 'Yars' echoed throughout the men and they began to charge.

Kakashi walked towards Naruto, "Looks like you need some help."

Naruto shook his head. "Just stay back." Kakashi was about to object but remained quiet. He figured that he can always jump in if the situation got out of hand.

Naruto walked casually towards the army. As the thugs reached Naruto, they aimed their weapons towards the boy but to everyone's surprise, he vanished, like a ghost in mist. Kakashi looked around for the boy, it wasn't a bushin that Naruto used. It was pure speed.

Suddenly blood sprayed into the air, bodies began dropping one by one until no one was left. Naruto stood in front of Gatou, holding the Tenro by his side, grinning at him like a madman. "How does it feel to know that you can't buy your way out of this?" Naruto approached slowly, like a beast stalking his prey.

Gatou, in panic, tried to move back but tripped over his own feet. He backed away from the boy slowly. "S-Stopp! If you let me live, I'll give you enough money that your grandchildren can live leisurely until they grow old."

Naruto started laughing, "Money is no good to me. I already have enough." Naruto crouched down in front of the man. "What else can you offer?"

Gatou was about to start offering the boy different things but stopped when he suddenly lost feeling in his legs and then pain shot up through his nerves and registered themselves in his mind. His legs…He couldn't feel his legs anymore. His eyes widened when he saw himself missing a pair of legs. He let out a bone-chilling scream of agony.

Naruto grinned at the man as he heard the former crime lord beg for mercy. Everyone else flinched at how brutally Naruto severed the man's legs. Even Kakashi looked away.

Naruto stood back up. "I made a promise to someone in this village. To undo the very things that you have done. You're a corrupted pig who uses people and then discards them. It is people like you that I despise. People that have no respect for others. Say hello to his father for me in the afterlife." With a quick swipe, Gatou's head rolled off his body.

Sakura witnessed the entire thing through her eyes, she felt sick and wanted to vomit. She saw Naruto, someone who was her age, kill people so easily. She turned away from him as he walked by her.

Naruto walked back with Gatou's head and handed it to Kakashi who sealed it into a scroll. "Are you going to be okay Naruto?"

Naruto nodded his head and performed the familiar hand seals. "**Biju Houshutsu: HeiKai.**" Naruto collapsed to the ground; all he saw before blacking out was a group of villagers coming towards the bridge with weapons.

Kakashi walked over to his fallen students. One was presumed dead and one was presumed unconscious with a silly grin on his face. He sighed. The Hokage will probably have his head for this.

Haku walked up to the fallen Uchiha. Kakashi looked at him cautiously. Haku gave him a reassuring look. "Don't worry Kakashi-san. I'm here to help." Haku looked at Sasuke, who was lying on the ground with needles through his body. Haku examined each needle before pulling the needles between his shoulders.

Sasuke suddenly jerked up, grasping for air and then falling back down. Kakashi couldn't repress a sigh of relief when he saw Sasuke coming back to life. '_I thought you knew me better Naruto.' _Haku's voice echoed through his head. _'So that's what he meant when he told Naruto. I should have seen it coming when he put Zabuza through a death-like trance.' _

Sakura, who was once filled with sadness and grief was replaced with tears of happiness, ran towards the revived boy, hugging him tightly. "Oh Sasuke-kun, I thought I lost you…"

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly and saw that it was Sakura hugging him. He gave her a weak glare. "Sakura, where's Naruto?"

Sakura looked up into his eyes. "Oh Sasuke-kun, why do you care about someone like that. He's nothing compared to you." Sasuke tried to push her off him but found his body to be too weak.

"Don't stress yourself too much Uchiha-san." Sasuke turned his head to see where the voice came from. When he saw Haku, he tried to reach for his weapon. Haku saw what Sasuke was looking for. "Don't worry, we're not your enemy anymore." He reassured the boy.

While people were being introduced over there, Tazuna looked around and saw his grandson in a homemade battle outfit. He quickly ran up to the boy. "What are you doing here?"

Inari looked around at the bridge, dead bodies filled the area and when he saw his grandfather, he dropped his crossbow and hugged the man. "Oijisan! You're okay!" Inari looked up at his grandfather with watery eyes.

Tazuna smiled. "Yes Naruto saved us all. Who would have believed it." Tazuna walked over with Inari besides him.

Inari saw their savior on the ground, sleeping calmly. "I believed in him."

Tazuna gave him a weird look. "Why? Didn't he threaten to kill you?" He figured something must have gone loose inside the boy's head.

Inari shook his head. "Yes but he saved me and kaasan from Gatou's thugs before he came rushing over here."

"Really now?" Kakashi walked over to the boy. After Inari told everyone about how Naruto single handedly took care of Gatou's thugs, everyone had a different opinion about the boy. Some began to respect the boy and some began to judge him differently.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was in deep thought. '_One of these days Naruto, I will surpass you and it will be one step closer to him.'_ Sakura slowly held Sasuke up, letting him use her as a support, feeling glad that he was alive. Everyone looked towards the bridge, this was one memory that will be forever remembered.

_2 Days later_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He slowly sat up, every inch of his body was sore. He took a quick look around the room and figured that he was back in Tazuna's house. He recalled the first time he was in this room and laughed to himself. He wasn't going to make that mistake again. He walked slowly over to the window and sat by the edge, just admiring the view. His peacefulness was soon interrupted when Kakashi walked into the room.

Kakashi had his hitai-ate over his left eye once again. "Oh Naruto, you're awake. So how are you feeling?" Kakashi stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

Naruto shrugged. "As good as I can be, I guess."

Kakashi looked over the boy. He suffered from chakra depletion and had wounds over his body. He should have been out for at least a week but this was Naruto, the boy who held the Kyuubi no Yoko, the king of all demons.

"I know you're here for something more than to check up on me Kakashi-sensei." Naruto's statement snapped him out of his own world.

Kakashi pointed to Naruto's stomach. "Yes, I wanted to know if the seal is weakening."

"We wouldn't want that to happen now would we?" Naruto retorted the answer back sarcastically.

"Naruto…" Kakashi shook his head slowly. The boy was changing slowly but only time will heal his scars. "What was that technique that you used earlier Naruto?"

Naruto looked at the man slowly before answering. "It was something that Ero-sennin came up with."  
_  
Flashback_

_"Ne Ero-sennin…" Naruto dropped down to the ground, exhausted from the day's spar._

_Jiraiya smacked his apprentice across the head. "Baka! I told you not to call me that. So what is it?"_

_Naruto glared at his sensei before rubbing his head. "How do I stop myself from drawing on the fox's chakra?"_

_Jiraiya thought about this. There were several ways of stopping the chakra but why would Naruto want to seal it off. "Why do you want to do that Naruto? The extra chakra makes you stronger and better than most people."_

_Naruto sighed. "They don't see me as a person. They see me as Kyuubi reborn, like a ticking time bomb whose just waiting to explode. If I'm going to make people change on how they look at me, it will be done my way, not with any help from the fox. I won't let the villagers get the satisfaction of knowing that I had help from the fox. It would give them more of a reason to beat me."_

_Jiraiya nodded his head. This boy was strong. Far stronger than any person he has ever known besides the fourth. No wonder they were father and son. "Okay Naruto, lets prove them wrong. I have been working on a seal that would hinder the fox's chakra but it won't completely stop it. The fourth was a great seal master, after myself of course." Jiraiya stood proudly, until Naruto stuck his legs between Jiraiya's and tripped him._

_Naruto gave him an innocent look. "Please continue on."_

_Jiraiya got back up and mumbled some silent threats to Naruto before continuing. "He used the Shiki Fujin to seal away the fox but it was the later seals that actually kept the fox inside of you. The Shisho Fuin and the Hakke no Fuin Shiki was placed on your stomach because that is where the fox resides. The seal was designed to slowly merge both of your chakras together until the fox disappears. Now my seal is a bit different. It won't be placed on top of that, it will be placed on your chest. What this seal will do to you is that it will place binds on your chakra system. You already have a huge amount of chakra at your disposal but this seal will limit you on how much chakra you have access to. Level 1 would be 25 percent, Level 2 will be 50 percent, Level 3 will be 75 percent while Level 4 will be 100 percent. There's a side effect to this though. If you open all of these at once, there is a chance that you will explode from the inside."_

_"What!!" Naruto yelled into Jiraiya's ear. Jiraiya threw Naruto away from him and rubbed his ear._

_Jiraiya was momentarily deaf before his senses returned to normal. "My ears are bleeding damn gaki. Think about it this way, your chakra reserves is like a dam of water. It supplies your body with a constant flow of chakra but if that dam breaks, then it would be rushing out like a flood. You're body can't take that much chakra at once."_

_Naruto nodded his head slowly. "Okay I get it, open all the seals at once equals bad. I got it."_

_Jiraiya rubbed his temples. "If you allow time to pass between opening gates, then you should be fine. Do you really want this seal?"_

_Naruto nodded his head. "It means that I can do more training!"_

_Jiraiya laughed. "You'll need all the training you can get if you want to beat me gaki."_

_Naruto pumped his fist at Jiraiya. "Shut up Ero-sennin! Just put the seal on me already."_

_Jiraiya put his hand to his chin for a minute. "Hm… Lets call it the Great Jiraiya Seal."_

_Naruto tripped his sensei again. "No… Lets call it **Biju Houshutsu.**"_

_Jiraiya thought about it for a minute. "Hm… Demon release. Not a bad name. It can frighten people when you scream it, especially with your voice. Okay we're going to call it **Biju Houshutsu.**"_

_Flashback End_

"I see, so that's what the technique does. What an ingenious technique." Kakashi smiled behind his mask. He was proud of how far Naruto has gotten.

"That was some fight you gave me gaki. I'm impressed." They turned around to the new voices. Haku and Zabuza walked into the room. "Yo brat." Zabuza waved. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto shrugged. "As good as I can be." Naruto rotated his arms and stretched. "Where are you guys going to go now?"

Zabuza pointed his hands towards Kakashi. Naruto looked to the other ninja. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of offered them a place in the village."

Naruto started laughing. "You'll definitely set those idiots we call villagers straight Zabuza. How are you going to bring this up with the Hokage Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi again rubbed the back of his head. "I was hoping you would do it."

Naruto was about to yell something back but thought about it. "Fine but I expect you to pay for my ramen bill when we get back." He offered his hand out to seal the deal. Kakashi shook his hand. He figured that Naruto couldn't eat that much so he didn't have much to lose.

Zabuza and Haku suddenly burst out laughing. Zabuza placed his hand on Kakashi's shoulder and patted him. "You have no clue what you just gotten yourself involved with." Kakashi wondered what the man was speaking about. Haku as well patted his arm. "Naruto ran up a bill of about _**¥**_50000 when we were still training together."

Kakashi dropped his jaw. _**¥**_50000 was just about how much he made in 2 months. He started weeping to himself.

Zabuza turned his attention to Naruto. "We'll duel again, but this time, we won't have to go that far." Naruto nodded his head. It was great to have his other sensei back.

"I understand now Naruto." Haku nodded his head before leaving the room.

Just as Haku stepped out, he bumped into Inari who ran straight into Haku and bounced back. Haku laughed and helped the boy up.

"Naruto-niichan!" Inari ran over and gave his new hero a hug.

Naruto returned the smile. "So how are you doing Inari?"

Inari released the hug and stepped back. "I've been great. Grandfather says that the bridge should be done today."

Naruto looked towards the window. He saw the bridge from a distance. "It looks great Inari. Your grandfather is a great bridge builder."

Inari nodded before remembering something. "Kaasan is making dinner and was wondering if you were up or not. I have to tell her to make a lot." Inari quickly went to find his mother.

Naruto wondered where the other two are, seeing as how they weren't in here to visit him. "So how's the other two?"

Kakashi pointed to the next room. "Sasuke's recovering slowly and Sakura's watching over him like a hawk."

"Hawk nothing, she's like a shark stalking her prey." Zabuza imitated a shark and did biting motions with his jaw.

Naruto laughed. "Same old idiots. Well, lets go down for some dinner." The men slowly exited the room for the last meal they would receive from Tsunami.

_Next Day_

As Team 7 walked towards the end of the bridge, they stopped and looked back. All the villagers were there to see them off. "Come back and visit soon Naruto-niichan!" Inari yelled to his new hero.

Naruto just waved back and began to walk away. The others saw Naruto walking away and began to follow his lead, one by one, each waving goodbye as they left.

"So what should we name this bridge?" Tazuna turned around and asked the villagers. They pondered among themselves for a minute.

Tazuna smiled. "How about the Great Ta-"

"The Great Naruto Bridge!" Inari shouted, interrupting his grandfather.

He looked at his grandson with open eyes. "Whatt?"

Villagers soon began to whisper the name among themselves. They soon began chanting the name they selected.

"There, it's decided. We're calling it the Great Naruto Bridge!" Tazuna glared at his grandson and sighed in defeat. He looked towards the sky. '_The Great Naruto Bridge huh? It's a catchy name…'_

_In the Forest_

Naruto walked ahead with Zabuza and Haku, catching up on the years they have been apart. Kakashi was strolling behind them, reading the familiar orange color book, occasionally letting out a giggle.

Sakura and Sasuke were walking behind Kakashi, whispering quietly among themselves. "Sasuke-kun, do you think we can trust Zabuza and Haku?"

Sasuke looked at the two missing-nins. "Yeah, I think we can. They haven't done anything lately, but keep your guard up."

Sakura nodded her head. "What about Naruto then?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "At this point, Naruto is seen as an enigma. We don't know much about his life except that he's stronger than your average genin. We have to be careful around him as well."

Kakashi sighed to himself. He heard the entire conversation. '_Children these days. They refuse to look underneath the underneath. Partially its our fault but what done is done.' _

Sakura then remembered a conversation that she had with her mother. "Hey Sasuke-kun, I remembered something my mom told me. When I told her who was on my team, she started freaking out when I mentioned Naruto's name. She told me to stay away from that freak."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was time for him to check in with the Harunos.

Sasuke thought about this for a minute. "We don't know much about him so lets keep our distance."

She nodded her head. She saw the raw power that Naruto containes. He seemed almost inhuman on the battlefield. She still shudders when she thinks back to that moment.

Kakashi paid no more attention to those two. He heard enough. He looked at Naruto. He was smiling casually while talking to the other two. He decided to join in the conversation. "So Zabuza, what do you plan on doing when you get instated as a Konoha-nin?"

Zabuza grinned. "That's easy, I'm going to beat this gaki down until he begs for mercy." He pulled Naruto into a headlock.

Naruto was taken by surprise and began to struggle. "Get off me old man." He tried to throw Zabuza off him but Zabuza was struggling and Naruto couldn't get a grip. "Fine then. You asked for it." Naruto jumped up and warped his legs around Zabuza and put his arms around his neck before pulling him down to the ground.

As the two hit the ground, Naruto disappeared and Zabuza looked surprised. "What the hell? When did you even switch out with me?"

Everyone looked surprised. They didn't even see Naruto use hand seals. Naruto appeared next to Haku. "Tch, you're no match for me." Zabuza growled and ran after the boy. The duo ran all the way back to Konoha while throwing insults at each other.

* * *

New Techniques - Ya only a few new ones and a couple of old ones.  
**Futon : Tsujikaze no Jutsu - Whirlwind no jutsu. - User summons winds into the area, compresses it into a sphere and then releases it, like a hurricane blowing everything away.  
Biju Houshutsu - Demon Release - It is like the gates that Gai and Lee uses but the improved and better verison. I thought it looked cool  
Biju Houshutsu - HeiKai. Demon Release - closure. The seal for returning back to normal.  
Kage Bushin no Jutsu - Shadow Clones**  
**Shiranui-ryu: Kurayami Tsukkakaru - Darkness Charge**  
**Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku - Phoenix Strike  
Rasengan - we all know what this is.  
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu - Grand Fireball  
Sensatsu Suisho no jutsu - Thousand Ice Needles  
Kuchiyose no Jutsu - Summoning contract.**


	11. The Chunnin Exams

Another installment of Exiled Legend. I sense that the end is drawing near but never fear. I will strive to continue. Ghost Rider is a great movie. Thumbs up.

Disclaimer: Work sucks. I dont own Naruto nor do I own the characters. Ideas are solely copyrighted by my imagination.

* * *

Chapter 11: The Chunnin Exams

There are many different kinds of villages out there in this world, they range from great hidden villages to smaller, less developed ones but they all share one thing in common. They produce teams that will benefit the village as a whole. The better the team, the better the reputation the village will have.

Over the years, Konoha has produced many unique teams, all soaring to great heights. The Legendary Sannins, the Ino-Shika-Cho team and many others. This year, many people have their eyes set on Team 7, who they consider to be the next generation of prodigies, each member contributing his or her own talent to the team.

They were led by one of the most renowned names in ninja history, Hatake Kakashi, also known as Copy Ninja Kakashi. He ventured deep into the mist with a group of genin that was fresh out of the academy but when they came back, they came back with something more than a completed mission under their belts.

They came back with valuable experience, experience that they couldn't learn in nether scrolls nor in classrooms. Every ninja grows from experience, learning and developing themselves so they can reach their full potential.

Each member of Team 7 gained something that day. Sasuke Uchiha, the surviving member of the infamous Uchiha Clan, received his right of passage into manhood, the prized Sharingan Eye. It is said that the famous Kekkei Genkai was able to copy many jutsus with just one glance. The user would be able to recall and mimic those exact seals in future usage. The Sharingan was awakened during his fierce battle with the missing-nin, Haku.

Sakura Hurano figured out first hand for herself that the life of a ninja is not all that glamorous and fun like she imagined it. The things that she witnessed that day have changed her perspective about the lives that ninjas have. The things she learned from her textbooks and from an actual battle was actually very different. Books shield children from the harshness of reality but when you leave those books at home, it is when you truly experience the roughness that life has to offer. Not everything is always perfect in this world and this was a valuable experience that she learned.

Naruto Uzumaki, heir to the Denkou Clan, had learned that bonds were not always a bad thing. A bond is like a friendship between people. They are there to help a person grow and mature. He still didn't know why people kept bonds but until he figures out that answer, he'll keep training until he is strong enough to achieve his dreams of being Hokage.

It was just a few days after their first major battle and everyone was feeling quite proud of themselves. Kakashi looked up from his book and admired his students. He was very proud of them; the actions that they demonstrated throughout this mission proved that he had indeed made the right choice in passing this team. Each of them had raw, untapped potential that can make them legends someday. Naruto and Sasuke, two boys, each having their own unique way of proving themselves to others. They were the two boys that caught the eyes of ninjas everywhere. Everyone can sense that they had a greater destiny calling than the other rookie genins. Kakashi could feel it in his bones; they were going to make him proud someday in the future.

As they made their way to the gates of Konoha, Sakura let out a happy sigh followed up with a big smile on her face. "We're finally home Sasuke-kun!" She turned around and looked him in the eye.

Sasuke looked up and saw her smile in front of his face. He let out a small grunt. Everyone laughed; they all knew he was glad to be back as well.

Kakashi walked towards the gate, signaling the guard that was on duty to do his job. The guard looked at the group, making sure that they were Konoha ninjas and not a missing-nin but he stopped when he didn't recognize the two new people on the team. "Wait a minute Kakashi-san. I don't recognize the other two. I can't let them pass without having them go through inspection." The guard looked cautiously at the two new people. Even though Konoha was in a time of peace, one can never let down their defense.

Kakashi walked up to the booth and whispered something to the guard. The guard's face turned pale before nodding his head.

Kakashi stepped back and grinned under his mask. "So you see, they're special guests of mine. It won't be a problem for them to enter right?"

The guard shook his head rather quickly. "It's okay, you guys can enter." Kakashi gave his thanks and walked back to the group.

Sakura glared at him. "What did you say to the man Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "I just asked him nicely to let us through." He wasn't going to let his team find out what he did, they were too young to know how to negotiate properly.

"You made several threats to that man, which included something about his house, his job and his b-" Kakashi quickly turned around and covered Naruto's mouth. "Maa Naruto, you shouldn't be telling lies." When he turned back around, he found everyone looking at him suspiciously. "Anyway, we can enter now." He quickly led the way, hoping that the subject would drop. He forgot that Naruto had enhanced hearing so he probably over heard his little threat.

As they walked further into the village, Zabuza let out a small whistle. "Hey gaki, you got a good thing going on here!" He slapped Naruto on the back, causing the boy to slightly trip. Zabuza looked around and admired the scenery, it was nothing compared to his old village.

Naruto growled at the man. His hand itched towards his weapon pouch.

Haku noticed Naruto's advancement towards the pouch and quickly stepped between the two. "Zabuza-san, I don't think you should do that to Naruto." He was well aware of the growing tensions between the two.

"You should listen to Haku old man, before you get another beating." Naruto subtlety hinted before retracting his hand from the pouch.

"What was that gaki?" Zabuza reappeared in front of Naruto and lifted him up by his shirt. "I dare you to repeat that." He looked Naruto straight in the eye, his pride already damaged from the earlier fight.

Everyone could feel the tension growing between the both of them. Kakashi stepped in, putting his hand on Zabuza's wrist and forcing him to lower the boy. "You're still my responsibility. Kill each other after we see the Hokage." He looked at Zabuza, his eyes making his actions clear.

"Tch. Lucky gaki." Zabuza put Naruto down and stretched, making it seem as if nothing happened. "You're not worth my time anyway."

Naruto dusted himself, making sure that his shirt wasn't torn in any way. "Keep telling yourself that. The results will always be the same."

Zabuza turned back around, "Why you -" Kakashi sighed. All he wanted was to read his book, not baby-sit two children. "Enough." He made his voice loud and clear. "Now we are going to see the Hokage. Whether you agree with me or not, I don't care."

Sakura, Haku, and Sasuke started to back away from the man they know only as their sensei. They could feel the killer-intent leaking out. They actually felt pity for the other two. Naruto and Zabuza felt the huge release of the killing intent. They both slowly stopped bickering and nodded their head, not wanting to piss the man off any more.

"Great, now lets move out." Kakashi started walking ahead while Naruto and Zabuza followed pursuit. Haku sighed and followed as well.

"What are we suppose to do Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stood there, wondering if they should follow as well.

Sasuke pondered about their choices for a while. "I think it's best that we steer clear of them for a while. Besides, they don't need all of us to do a report so I think it's best that we just go home." Sasuke started to walk off, leaving Sakura to think for herself.

"Hey Sasuke-kun…" Sakura blushed to herself, clearly that she was thinking some romantic thoughts which included herself and her precious Sasuke-kun. She fiddled with her fingers, trying to find the right words. "I was uh… wondering… if you would… like to have dinner with me?"

She looked at the floor, waiting for her answer. When she heard no reply, she looked up. "Sasuke-kun?" She looked around for the boy of her dreams but he was no where to be seen. "Oh are you playing hide and seek with me? That's so cutee!" Sakura started to walk around, searching for her prize. Yes, that girl needs to spend some time straightening out her priorities.

_Hokage Tower_

Kakashi ended up dragging the both of them straight to the tower. Never in his life has he been so embarrassed. His fellow ninjas were pointing and laughing at him the entire way. Naruto and Zabuza were oblivious to the embarrassment, they were too busy bickering among themselves while they were being dragged along. Haku had enough sense to walk several feet behind them and his other two students happened to disappear.

He sighed, it was just not his day. The secretary just happened to have a camera that day as well. It seemed like fate had played a hand in his humiliation. Was this payback for all the times he was late? He cried to himself. So here he was, standing in front of the door, with two people who continued to bicker while the secretary was taking pictures of this event, probably to be used as blackmail later.

_'So this must be what rock bottom feels like.'_ Kakashi thought to himself. He sighed, he better get this over with. He pushed open the doors and walked in, dragging the other two with them. Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork. He saw a frustrated Kakashi standing there, separating Naruto and some man from what looks like an argument about to turn into a brawl and a young boy just standing next to the older man.

He cleared his throat. "Had a fun mission Kakashi? Decided to pick up two hitch-hikers as well?" He chuckled to himself while Kakashi shook his head.

"Fun? No. Completed mission? Yes. Pick up two strangers? Yes." He motioned his hand, signaling for Zabuza and Haku to step forward. "May I present to you Zabuza Momochi and Haku, both missing-nins from the mist."

Sarutobi slowly looked over the two people, slowly recognizing them from the bingo books. Zabuza Momochi, also known as the Demon of the Mist, ranked as a level A missing-nin while Haku was ranked as a level S. "May I ask why they're here?"

Kakashi started laughing. "That's a funny story Hokage-sama, but I believe Naruto here would like to take over." Kakashi pushed Naruto in front of him and stepped back. Naruto glared at Kakashi, who acted like there was nothing wrong.

"Well Naruto, I'm waiting." Sarutobi dropped his pen, glad that he received a break from the paperwork. Maybe listening to this story might put him in a good mood.

Naruto stood in front of his Hokage, who was patiently waiting for the story. "Oiji-san, I just want to tell you that you're doing a great job running the village and I want you to in state these two as Konoha ninjas." Naruto sped through the last part, not wanting to go through that. He stood in front of the desk, waiting for the answer. It all came down to him now, whether the old man let them be ninjas or not. Oh no, they were going to be ninjas one way or another. If they didn't, then lets just say that the old man is going to get a really big surprise later. Naruto smirked. He liked that idea. It might not be a bad idea if he had to do this the other way.

Sarutobi looked at the boy, noticing the smirk on his face. He thought about it for a bit, bringing in two powerful ninjas to serve Konoha and Naruto was getting better at socializing with others. He liked this idea. "Okay Naruto, I'll instate them as Konoha Ninjas." He started rummaging though his drawers for the proper paperwork. "Oh by the way, there's a bonus for the one who brought these two to our side. So who was it?"

Naruto's attention snapped back to the old man. "It was mmfp."

Kakashi appeared in front of Naruto, covering his mouth. "It was I Hokage-sama." _'Sorry Naruto but with that deal you swindled me into, I need this money to pay for it and to buy the new release of Icha Icha Paradise - Tropical Island Pleasure.'_

Naruto started struggling against Kakashi's grip, trying to release himself but to no avail.

Sarutobi looked at the jonin suspiciously. "Why are you covering Naruto's mouth Kakashi?"

Kakashi let out a small laugh. "You know kids these days. They say the darnest thing."

"Being late is one thing but being a liar as well?" Everyone turned around to see Naruto standing by the wall. They looked back and see the Naruto struggling in Kakashi's arm disappear. Everyone was thinking to themselves, when did the boy make a bushin?

Sarutobi sighed, "Enough, both of you can get the bonus, now please leave. I have to file the necessary paperwork. Naruto show them around the village please." Naruto lowered his shoulders in defeat. He slowly walked out the door, followed by Haku and Zabuza.

"Kakashi, can I speak with you for a minute?" Kakashi stayed behind, wondering what the Hokage would want from him. "So how did Naruto really persuaded them to come over?"

Kakashi let out a little laugh, knowing he was caught red-handed. He let out a small cough before answering the question. "Well when we first encountered Zabuza, he was a missing-nin hired by Gatou to take care of our client but it turns out that Naruto knew Zabuza from back then. Words got flying and those two fought it out. Long story short, Naruto beat Zabuza back into his old self and this is where we are now."

"I see…" Sarutobi sat back, this was a lot to think about. He knew deep down inside that Naruto was able to take care of himself but it was surprising to find out that Naruto himself doesn't realize that he has a special gift. The ability to turn enemies into his friends. That was a rare quality that all past Hokage had in common. '_Naruto my boy, you keep getting more interesting.'_

Kakashi saw his Hokage's eyes twinkle for a split second before it disappeared. "Is there anything else Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage nodded his head. "Do you think your team is ready for the upcoming Chunnin Exams?"

Kakashi thought for a moment before answering. "Without a doubt sir. They are ready and should be able to pass the exam."

The Hokage studied the chunnin's features carefully. It was a big responsibility to let a new team of genins go through with this. They could have died doing this and it wouldn't look good for the village if they did. "Then give them these papers and you know what to do."

Kakashi nodded his head. "I have faith in them Hokage-sama and high expectations for them as well."

Sarutobi smiled. "So do I, so do I. Now go find them."

Kakashi bowed and disappeared in a plume of white smokes and green leaves.

_Outside the Tower_

"So what do we do now Naruto?" Haku asked, leaning against the wall. The trio stood outside the tower, wondering where to go next.

Naruto thought about his schedule for today. "Well first I have some businesses to attend to, like finding out where my other teammates are and then, my afternoon is free I guess."

"Ha!" Zabuza snorted. "Those weaklings are your teammates?" Zabuza recalled the events. The pink hair girl did nothing while the other boy got his behind handed to him by Haku. He couldn't control his laughter and burst out laughing.

Naruto sighed. "Yes they may be weak…"

"And useless." Haku spoke up.

Naruto lowered his head. "Yes and useless."

"And pathetic." Haku added in.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Yes and pathetic but nevertheless, they are my teammates. We don't abandon each other." It was one of the first lessons that he learned while being on this team. Never leave a teammate behind.

Zabuza continued laughing at Naruto's expensive. Haku couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I don't have time for this…" Naruto muttered under his breathe. He formed his favorite hand seals and smirked. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu."

Zabuza stopped laughing and wondered what was going on. All he knew was that he was having the best time of his life laughing and then he saw a clone pop into existence.

"Listen, my clone here is just the same thing as me and he'll show you around. I'll meet up with you guys later." Naruto pointed to his clone and gave it instructions. The Naruto clone nodded and walked away with Zabuza and Haku.

While Naruto watched his present company walk away, he wondered where his team was. "Well… If I was Sasuke, where would I be…" He thought about it. "I know, I would be at the training grounds training and if I know Sakura, she would have her nose trained on his scent like a bloodhound so wherever he goes, she goes." Naruto nodded at his logic before he shushin away, towards their usual training grounds.

_Elsewhere in Konoha_

Sasuke lowered his head, he was wondering how Sakura managed to tracked him down. He was sure he covered up his tracks. He figured losing her in the market place would be easy but that girl has like a tracking jutsu or something.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by a familiar voice. "Never thought you would be here Sasuke. I thought you would be in the training field or something."

The Uchiha turned his head and spotted his last remaining teammate. "What do you want dobe?"

Naruto walked up to him slowly. "And to think I spent my time to look for you." Naruto looked around, something was missing. "Where's your fan girl?"

Sasuke shuddered. "I finally managed to lose her."

"Sassukee-kunnn!" The boys turned around, surprised to see Sakura running towards them.

"You were saying?" Naruto had a surprised look on his face. "Damn, she would make an excellent bloodhound."

By the time she caught up to the rest of her group, she wasn't even winded. Naruto took note of that for future references.

"Sasuke-kunn, how did you know I love playing hide and seek." Sakura squealed even more, glad that she won her prize.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. '_She has got to be kidding me.'_

Sakura then noticed Naruto. "Oh hi Naruto."

Naruto noticed the change in her tone. "Hello to you too bloodhound." He replied back coldly.

Sakura took no notice in his reply. Naruto sighed and kicked the wall. Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

Naruto didn't answer them. He continued to kick the wall, until a camouflage sheet fell over revealing a young Konohamaru. "Ah… I see that you're worthy to be my rival Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto stared at the young boy. He was wondering what he was doing here. "What are you doing here shrimp?"

Konohamaru took a step back and looked at his new rival. "You and I are going to fight for the title of Hokage!" Konohamaru raised his fist at Naruto.

Sakura laughed and crouched down. "That one over there is certainly not going to be Hokage little boy but you, you might make it." Naruto growled at her for her comment. He was going to prove to everyone that he was going to make it to Hokage.

Konohamaru stared at Sakura. "Gramps said that someone name Naruto Uzumaki will one day take the title away from him and if I want it sooner, I would have to be like that person."

Sasuke felt his eyes shifting towards Naruto. He couldn't help but feel something about Naruto. Is this jealously he was feeling? He quickly shook off that thought. He couldn't help but wonder why everyone was paying so much attention to a dead-last.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying to recognize that face from somewhere. "Konohamaru Sarutobi?"

The little boy nodded his head. "Yes and you'll all one day respect me as the next Hokage!" He kicked the dirt and ran around in the next corner, leaving the genins to themselves.

Naruto straightened up and smirked. '_So that brat thinks he can beat me to Hokage? He has another thing coming.'_ He was about to walk away until he heard a familiar voice who started yelling out something.

As he got closer, he heard several other voices. "Hey brat, that hurts!" Naruto stepped away from the corner and saw Konohamaru trembling, the older boy dressed in black with make up on his face was scaring Konohamaru.

Sakura and Sasuke came over to see what was going on. "Hey that's no way to treat a little boy!" She stood behind Sasuke, pushing him to do something. Sasuke stood there, wondering how he got himself in this mess.

"Kankuro, stop making a scene and lets just go." The older boy turned his attention to the girl behind him.

"But he started it." He picked Konohamaru up by his shirt and smirked. "He has to pay for his actions." Kankuro suddenly froze, unable to do anything. He couldn't feel any part of his body nor was any part of his body responding to his actions.

"You will let the boy go now." Kankuro found himself frozen on the spot, unable to do anything but feel helpless. He stared at the approaching boy, messy blond hair with strange whisker markings on his face. He gulped. This kid was releasing an overpowering killing intent.

Naruto walked up to the boy who the girl earlier called him Kankuro. He looked him in the eye, "I hate to repeat myself." He stood there, waiting for Kankuro to make his move.

Konohamaru stopped struggling as he watched the interaction between the person named Kankuro and Naruto. He felt relieved that Naruto was here, that everything will be better. If his grandfather could trust him, maybe he should too.

Kankuro found himself in the depths of darkness, nothing there but him and this strange boy. He found the stench of blood coming from the boy but there was something familiar about the boy, something that told him that he was dangerous. He couldn't help but feel trap as he found the boy staring at him. The illusion fell apart when Kankuro felt another being entering his mind.

"Kankuro, you're disgracing our village. I will kill you myself if you keep this up." A dark mysterious voice calmly said.

Kankuro snapped out of his own world, only to find that his hand was still in the same position but without the boy. He saw the smirk on Naruto's face. "Gaara...?"

"Stop your whining and move." A mysterious figure appeared besides Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened. His senses went on high alert. He didn't even sense the boy and somehow, the boy managed to sneak up next to him. He turned his head to get a good look at him but he found that the boy's eyes were very familiar. '_Those eyes, they feel very similar.'_

Naruto was surprised to see a red headed boy with a odd kanji tattooed on his head and with a big gourd on his back. The gourd itself must have weighed over 100 pounds. "What's your name?" The boy asked coldly.

Naruto didn't answer, he kept staring at the boy. "If you want to know my name, you first have to give me your name."

Kankuro stepped back until he was next to the girl. "Temari, is this guy brave or stupid?"

The girl watched the interaction between the two boys with interest. "Gaara's interested in this guy though." Temari looked at the blond. She had to admit, he wasn't bad looking and he has a mysterious aura around him.

Gaara looked at Naruto before answering. "Sabaku no Gaara."

Naruto smirked. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Gaara took note of his name before turning around. "Temari, Kankuro, we're leaving." The duo immediately ran after the boy, leaving everyone to wonder why they were there.

"Wait, why are you here?" Sakura asked, still hiding behind Sasuke.

Gaara heed no attention to her question and continued to walk. Temari stopped and looked at her. "Are you stupid or something?"

Sakura felt her cheeks go red, this girl was trying to make her look bad in front of her Sasuke-kun. "No, we're just genin and we're curious."

Temari sighed. "Didn't you know that your village was selected this year to hold the upcoming Chunnin Exams?"

Sakura shook her head. This was new to her. Temari waved her hand and walked away, hoping to catch up with her team.

Sasuke smirked. The thought of fighting and beating stronger opponents was making his blood rush. '_The Chunnin Exams huh? I can't wait.'_

Naruto stayed quiet, wondering about the boy. There was something oddly familiar about him. He decided to put that thought on hold while turning his attention back to the other issue at hand. "Let's go find Kakashi-sensei and ask him about this Chunnin Exam." Sakura and Sasuke both nodded their head, walking towards some places that they thought their sensei might be.

Before Naruto followed them, he turned around to check up on Konohamaru. "Are you alright Konohamaru?" The little boy nodded his head.

Naruto smiled. "That's great. I have to go now but remember, there are no short cuts to becoming Hokage. If you want that title, you'll have to beat me to it." Naruto ruffed up the boy's hair before leaving.

Konohamaru stared at him before shouting, "Just wait and see Naruto-niisan, I'll do it. Just watch me!" Konohamaru turned around and ran someplace where he was going to spend his time training.

_30 minutes later_

"I give up, Kakashi-sensei is impossible to find." Sakura sighed. They have looked everywhere for the man, the dango shop, the book store, even the Hokage Tower but he was not around. Naruto tried sensing his chakra signature but couldn't locate it. Sakura leaned on the handrails, watching the water flow downstream. The group decided to call it quits and was taking a break at the bridge.

"Yo." The group heard a familiar voice, the voice that they were all too eager to see. They turned their heads and saw the one person they spent the last 30 minutes looking for.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out. "Are we glad to see you!"

Kakashi just waved his hand. He spent the last hour at the book store, reading and tracking the latest volume of his favorite book.

"What's this about the Chunnin Exams?" Sakura asked, getting straight to the point.

Kakashi laughed. "Straight to the point as always." Sasuke tapped his foot, getting impatient.

Kakashi found the boy's action amusing. He would have to test the boy's patience later in the future. "The Chunnin Exams happens twice a year. It is an chance for genins who pass the exam to achieve the ranks of Chunnin."

"We want to enter this year." Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Sasuke. He was his usual brooding self but his eyes betrayed him. They showed excitement, the thrill of combat.

"Are you guys ready for it though?" Kakashi rubbed his chin, acting as if he didn't know if they were ready or not. He didn't want to tell them they were ready, too much praise can lead to over confidence which overall leads to a downfall of a ninja.

"Please spare us with your make-believe speech. Our actions from our past mission shows that we're capable of entering." Kakashi turned his attention to the new voice. Kakashi saw Naruto leaning across the rail, calmly staring at the clear river.

Kakashi blinked, for a second there, Naruto looked like a splitting image of the fourth. "Maa Naruto, you have to lighten up. I have here 3 paper slips for you guys. Each one is a ticket to enter the exams. Follow the instructions and good luck." With his last words, Kakashi disappeared in a his trademark smoke, leaving the genins to decide for themselves.

Naruto took one look at his ticket and stuffed it in his pocket. Sakura carefully read through hers, taking her time while Sasuke just glanced it, looking for the important details. "It says on the ticket that we have to report to room 304 at 9 am tomorrow."

"Glad that you can read the instructions." Naruto calmly said. He started walking away from the group.

"Where are you going Naruto!" Sakura shouted at Naruto who only continued to walk.

Naruto stopped and smirked. "I got other things to do besides babysitting you guys." With that, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving his teammates behind.

Sakura growled. "What! Come back here and say that again!" She shook her fist in the air. She turned around and noticed that Sasuke was also leaving. "Wait Sasuke-kun, where are you going?"

Sasuke didn't stop, he followed in Naruto's footsteps. "I got things to do. I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura sighed. Maybe she should follow her teammate's advice and prepare for tomorrow.

_That Night_

Naruto's kage bushin finally ran out of chakra and disappeared, leaving Naruto to wait for the information to come rushing back to him. He felt his mind tightening, slowly processing the information. Naruto sighed and opened the door to his apartment. Haku and Zabuza found themselves an apartment just a block away and has seen the entire village, thanks to Naruto's clone. Naruto found himself tired, from all the events that happened that day and the training that he did. He was going to call it quits and feel refreshed for tomorrow's exam. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, feeling free once more.

Sasuke stared at the broken and battered wooden post. 355 times the wooden post had taken his punches. He didn't bother to count the other 10 wooden posts that he had burned while practicing his jutsus. _'Soon Itachi… I will reach your level and kill you.'_ Fatigue hit Sasuke at once, making his arms feel like lead and his legs like rubber. "Ugh, I might have overdone it tonight." Sasuke slowly dragged his battered and sore body into bed, allowing his fatigue to take over and his subconscious to enter the dream world, where he could get a decent night's rest.

Sakura sat at her desk, looking at a recent photograph that they took from their last mission. She looked at Sasuke, who stood there, brooding. '_Sasuke-kun looks so handsome in that picture.' _It had took some begging to Sasuke to get him into this picture but it was all worth it.

_Flashback_

"_Sasuke-kunn, Will you take a picture with me?" Sakura looked at Sasuke, with dreamy eyes. _

_"No." Sasuke didn't even look at her. He continued to sit there, meditating. _

_Sakura pouted. She wasn't going to give up. Love will conquer all. "Are you sure? It'll be a great memory." She tried again, hoping that he would eventually say yes. _

_"No." Sasuke answered again, slightly raising his voice. _

_Naruto leaned against a tree, quite amused at this scene. Kakashi was right next to Naruto, enjoying his book. "Why don't you go help Sakura Naruto." _

_Naruto shook his head. "I want nothing to do with people that doesn't want anything to do with me." _

_Kakashi flipped the page. "Then how about a bet. If you can make Sasuke take a picture with her, I'll teach you a new jutsu." _

_Naruto thought about this and nodded his head. "Deal." _

_Naruto walked over to Sakura and whispered something into her ear. She quickly nodded. _

_Naruto cleared his voice. "Sasuke, are you sure you don't want to take a picture?" _

_Sasuke didn't even bother to open his eyes to know who it was. "No dobe, I'm not taking any pictures. Get lost, I'm trying to mediate here." _

_Naruto smirked. "Then you don't mind that you don't want to take a picture with us?" _

_"No. Are you deaf or something? I already said no." Sasuke still didn't bother to open his eyes, which cost him a big mistake. _

_Naruto waved and called Kakashi over. "Sasuke here doesn't mind so we're taking this picture." _

_Sasuke opened his eyes, slowly recalling Naruto's question. He growled. "You played me dobe." _

_Naruto shrugged. "Simple trick for a simple mind." _

_Sakura squealed in happiness and jumped in between Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke sighed and tried to shake his arm off from Sakura but found her grip tightening. Kakashi got between his students and put his book away. Naruto dragged a photographer over and stood next to Sakura. Sakura put on her cutest smile. This was one picture that she was going to treasure forever._

_Flashback End._

Sakura stared at the picture for a few more seconds before going to bed. It was going to be a big day, she could feel it. '_I hope I won't drag anyone down…'_ She recalled back to the several times where she needed to be rescued by her teammates and her sensei. '_No!'_ She clutched her fist, she was going to be stronger, she was going to be stronger for her Sasuke-kun. Maybe then, he would see her in a different light. Thinking too much is too bad for her right now. She looked at her bed, it was sending a very interesting invitation towards her which she willingly accepted.

_Next Morning_

Sakura and Sasuke stood at the front door, waiting for their already late teammate. Sasuke leaned against the door frame, watching people as they walked in. Some of them, he caught the scent of battle on them and that made his blood rush, his adrenaline rushing through his veins. He couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Sakura caught Sasuke glancing at her and blushed. '_He must be noticing me!'_

The only thing Sasuke noticed was the people who walked by him and by coincidence, Sakura happened to be on the other side. He saw Sakura staring at him like he was a piece of meat. To say that Sasuke was freaked out was an understatement. He could have swore to himself that there was a piece of drool coming out from the side of Sakura's mouth. He blinked and saw nothing. '_Odd girl…'_

"Are you going to be looking at her all day Sasuke?" A voice called out from behind him.

Sasuke turned around and was met face to face with his other teammate. "Hn. It's about time you got here."

Naruto shrugged and stepped back. "I got lost on the road of life."

Sakura fazed out of her daydream at that moment and saw Naruto. "You're late Naruto!" She pointed her finger at him.

He glared at her. "Are you asking for a broken finger pinky?" He gave her a sinister smile. Sakura backed away, pretty sure that Naruto would have carried out that threat. "Well, I'm here now so lets go."

Sasuke started walking ahead and led the way. Naruto and Sakura walked by his side, pretty sure that they were causing a scene by walking in this way. Naruto took a look at the other entrees. "There's some interesting characters here." He whispered in a low voice to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. "There are only a few characters here that I would love to fight." He quickly answered back, not wanting to alert Sakura.

As Team 7 walked up a flight of stairs, they heard a loud slap. They quickly ran to see what the commotion was.

"Hm… You plan on taking the Chunnin Exam like that?" Two teenagers stood outside the door, stopping anyone from entering it. The boy with two swords on his back stood in front of a boy in a green jumpsuit.

His partner stepped forward. "You guys should quit now." He looked a bit younger than his partner but was also releasing the same type of aura.

"You guys are just little kids. Come back when you're ready." The first one replied.

A girl was on the floor next to the kid in the green jumpsuit. She checked over his wound and stood up. "Please let us through. We just want to get into room 301."

The teenagers just smirked and then without warning, slapped her on her right cheek. Sakura gasped. The girl in a Chinese outfit just got slapped. The crowd started whispering among each other.

The first boy overheard their conversation. "Huh? Listen, we're being kind. The Chunnin Exam isn't easy. We're doing you a favor here." He shouted into the crowd. Naruto snorted.

Sasuke smirked. "You will let me through," He stepped through the crowd. "And drop this genjutsu. It's a very pathetic attempt. I'm trying to get to the third floor."

The other teams were giving him a weird look, wondering if he had lost his marbles or something.

"Oh… So you noticed huh." The teens were impressed. They had the genjutsu up for about 10 minutes now and no one bothered to see if it was real or not and here was a kid challenging them.

The boy with weapons on his back smiled. "Heh.. Not bad but all you did was see through it!" He flipped around and threw a kick at Sasuke. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and saw the kick coming. He answered back with his own kick.

Sasuke suddenly felt his own kicked being stopped at the hands of the kid in a green jumpsuit. Sakura blinked, she couldn't believe her own eyes. He moved really fast. Faster than her eye could follow.

Naruto stood there, analyzing the kid. '_He's fast...'_ The kid released both of their legs from his grip and calmed down. Sasuke stared at the new kid, the wound on his face seemed to have disappeared.

"I thought you were the one who told us not to show off." Another voice echoed behind them. The kid in the green jumpsuit bowed his head. "Gomen, gomen but you see…"

Sasuke stared at the kid while he was apologizing to his teammate. '_So they were faking it huh…'_ He could feel the power emitting from the pale white kid.

Naruto glanced at the new group. '_They don't look like much.' _

The kid in the green jumpsuit walked up to Sakura and smiled. "Hello, my name is Rock Lee. You must be Sakura." He flashed her a big smile. "Would you like to go out with me? I'll protect you with my life!"

Sakura dropped her jaw. She looked at him. That out of style haircut and the outrageous jumpsuit would make anyone want to run for the hills. "No…Way…"

Lee dropped his head in defeat. The other kid in white sighed but turned his attention to Sasuke. "What's your name?"

Sasuke snorted. "If you want to know my name, it would be polite to tell others your name first." The kid gritted his teeth. The girl giggled.

"You know, you should leave him alone. He has some major issues to deal with." The boy instantly turned around. The girl gasped and jumped back.

Naruto smiled. "Hey, don't take it the wrong way Sasuke but he should know what he's dealing with."

"Tch, whatever." Sasuke began to walk away and Naruto smirked. "Hyuuga Neji. Rookie of the year from last year. It's nice to meet you." Naruto nodded his head to show recognition for the famous Hyuuga.

Neji glared at the boy. He didn't even feel him sneaking up on him. "Who are you?"

Naruto began to walk away, hoping to catch up with Sasuke. "Just nobody."

Neji smirked. There was going to be some interesting competition this year. The girl stared at Naruto's retreating figure. '_He's cute though…'_

Sasuke walked up to Sakura, who was trying to get away from Lee. "Sorry Rock Lee but Sakura here is our genjutsu specialist. We need her right now." Sasuke looked at the other boy before dragging Sakura away.

She blinked out of her state, finally understanding the words that Sasuke just said to her. "Thank you Sasuke-kun." She whispered to nobody in particular.

"Geez Sasuke, you didn't have to ditch me back there." Naruto called out from behind. Naruto saw the rejected Rock Lee with his head against the wall. He shrugged and leaned over. "It's okay. Pinky wouldn't be that great of a girlfriend anyway." He said that last comment a bit too loud.

"What!" His comment earned himself an earful from both Rock Lee and Sakura herself.

Meanwhile behind a set of almost closed doors, the two teenagers who guarded the door before laughed. "So those are Kakashi's and Gai's prized team eh." They held up a hand seal and dispersed into their original forms. "This exam will be very interesting." The teenagers were replaced with a pair of chunnins, who just smirked.

"Wait, Sasuke-san." Sasuke stopped and turned around. "What do you want now Lee?" He looked at him in annoyance. The green suit was just too much for him to handle.

"I want to fight the descendant from the legendary Uchiha clan who was hailed for all the geniuses they produced." Lee held out his palm, a subtle message that said 'Bring it on.'

Sasuke smirked. This could be a good warm up. "I accept."

Lee led the way into a wide area within the building. Sasuke walked over to one end while Lee walked over to the other. Sakura hurried over to Sasuke. "Are you sure you want to do this Sasuke-kun?" He nodded his head.

Naruto yawned. "I would forfeit if I were you Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at him. "But I'm not you dobe. I never turn down a fight against an opponent."

Naruto shrugged and leaned against a rail, having the best seat in the house. Naruto looked at Rock Lee, who stood there with his left hand behind his back, inviting Sasuke to attacked. '_He doesn't have a lot of chakra in his body and those bandages on both of his arms show that he has down a lot of taijutsu training.'_ Naruto laughed to himself. '_Sasuke better prepare himself because this is something that is not to taken lightly.'_

Sasuke on the other hand, was trying to analyze Rock Lee. He couldn't help but wonder what moves he was going to show him.

"If you won't come to me Sasuke-san, I'll come to you." Lee started running towards him.

Sasuke grinned. '_Amateur mistake.'_ He held up his arms to guard himself from any attack. Sasuke watched as Lee ran towards him. Closer and closer until Lee just disappeared. His eyes widened as Lee disappeared in front of him. '_Ninjutsu? Genjutsu?'_ Sasuke was taken by surprised when he saw Lee in front of him and threw a punch to his face. Sasuke felt the pain from his punch. It was hard and could still feel the sting.

He stepped back and tried to rethink his plan. "I don't know how you did that but lets see you do that again." Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated some chakra to them. When he opened his eyes, they weren't the usual onyx eyes, they were red with 2 tomes in each eye.

"So that's the mighty Sharingan." Lee admired them from afar.

Sakura looked into Sasuke's eyes and squealed. '_That's right, He has the Sharingan. Whatever trick Lee-san is pulling will be discovered by Sasuke.'_ She felt her pride for Sasuke going up with each passing moment.

Sasuke grinned at Lee. "Come. Lets see what kind of trick you can do now."

Naruto watched the match with growing interest. "Oh… He finally brought out the eyes. This might be an interesting match."

"Here I come Sasuke-san." Lee ran forward, disappearing once again. Sasuke kept his eyes open for Lee's whereabouts. '_Don't panic, these eyes will tell me where he is.'_ He kept repeating the same phrase over and over in his head, trying to calm himself down. Sasuke saw Lee in front of him again, but this time he was prepared for it. '_Now I'll see what trick you used.'_

Sasuke saw Lee performing some hand movements. '_Ninjutsu!'_ Sasuke prepared to stop the attack but found Lee still running towards him, the distance getting smaller and smaller.

When Lee was in front of Sasuke's face, Sasuke quickly jumped back and threw a kick to Lee's face but nothing connected. Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw no one there. The next thing Sasuke knew was that he was flying up in the air.

Naruto's interest was perked. That Lee kid disappeared from under Sasuke and kicked him up into the air. '_He has pure speed.'_

Sakura, on the other hand, was watching in horror as her Sasuke-kun was getting beaten by a fashion disaster.

"Ugh." Sasuke tried to regain his focus but it was kind of hard when you're flying up in the air. Sasuke felt something poking him in the back.

"This is the hard work that I put in to defeat the type you call geniuses." Lee removed his finger from the back and prepared his trump card.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He saw Lee going under his kick and placing his own kick to his chin to send him airborne. It wasn't ninjutsu or genjutsu. It was taijutsu. He cursed his luck for going against an opponent like this.

"Let me show you the move that will crush geniuses." Sasuke began to panic as the bandages around the boy's arms began to slowly unwrap.

Naruto witnessed the entire event and recognized the technique that Lee was about to do. It was the Omote Renge. Naruto shuddered as he recalled that technique.

_Flashback_

_Naruto stood there, grinning as he watched the field populated with his clones. "What are you going to do now Araki-neechan." _

_Araki smirked. "Gaki, I'm going to show you something that I once saw." _

_Naruto frowned. This wasn't good, whenever Araki-neechan said that, he ended up being in bed for a week. His eyes widened as all his clones disappeared in mere seconds, leaving him to be alone in the field. "What are you staring at baka?" _

_Naruto yelled in surprise as he felt a kick that sent him airborne. He tried to move his jaw but found it in pain. He felt someone under him. "I hope you're prepared for this Naruto." _

_Naruto felt his heart rate rising, the feeling of insecurity building up inside of his mind. "W-what are you doing Araki-neechan?" He heard no response except that he felt a pair of arms wrapped around him. _

_"This move is called the Omote Renge." He felt himself being turned upside down and falling at a fast rate to the ground. Naruto couldn't help but scream. _

_"Ahhhh!!" He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. When he felt nothing, he opened his eyes slowly and saw something very disturbing. "Hahaha Naruto. You should have seen your face." _

_Naruto pouted. "Araki-neechan! That wasn't funny!" Naruto stood up, a bit shaken from that last move. _

_"I learned that from a weird person whose name I can't remember but I would recognize him anywhere.. If you didn't think that was funny, you'll be laughing when you met the guy who I learned it from." Naruto slowly nodded his head, glad that he didn't get pummeled into the ground. He pictured what would have happened if his head had connected with the ground. Pictures of a tombstone kept popping up in his head._

_Flashback End_

Naruto shook his head, turning his focus back into the match. That was a vulnerable spot in the air, leaving yourself wide open to be attacked. Naruto jumped in, not wanting Sasuke to get slammed into the ground.

As Lee was about to wrap his bandages around Sasuke, he felt something coming towards him. Naruto threw a few kunais at Lee, catching his bandages and pinning them to the wall. "I can't let you do that move Lee-san."

Sasuke landed on the ground with a thump. He let out a small growl, his pride already hurt by having Naruto showing up and saving him. "I could have handled it dobe."

Naruto let out a small chuckle. "That and you would have been 6 feet under." Naruto turned his attention to Lee. "You know that move is a forbidden move Lee-san."

Lee looked down in shame. He slowly rewrapped his bandages in silence. Naruto sighed. "I won't tell him Lee-san," Lee looked up with hope in his eyes. "But." Lee started dropping his head. He knew where this was going. "You will tell him yourself."

"Hai Naruto-san." Lee bowed his head and disappeared, off to find his team.

Naruto turned around and offered a hand to Sasuke. "Got your ass kicked there eh Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked and accepted the hand. "It was a warm-up for the exams." If there was this many strong opponents in the Chunnin Exams, then this was the place for him. He can pick up many new techniques here. Sasuke started thinking to himself. Yes, after he was done here, he would be one step closer.

"Enough brooding. We're going to be late if we don't hurry." Naruto's voice snapped Sasuke back into reality.

"Tch, you don't tell me what to do." Sasuke started walking, with Sakura following behind and Naruto just grinning.

"OH! My poor Lee!" a loud voice cried out. "The power of youths failed him! I will make him do 100 laps around Konoha to make him feel better!"

A second voice sighed. "What did you say Gai?"

Gai swayed in his step. "Oh that's so hip of you Kakashi! That's why you're my fierce rival!"

Kakashi shook his head. He can't believe himself that he followed Gai here to see the showdown between Lee and his team. He was glad Naruto stopped the last move or he would have intervened himself.

"If Lee can't do 100 laps, then I will do 300 pushups with rocks on my back!" Kakashi ignored Gai. Whenever he started with this power of youth stuff, he had more energy than any Raiton Jutsus. Gai continued to yap on and Kakashi decided that it was the best time to walk away. Kakashi started walking away, leaving Gai to rant on by himself. This was going to be a very interesting exam.

* * *

So what did you guys think. Special things are going to stir up as well as characters from the past. Leave me some lovely reviews and I'll try to get the next one up ASAP. 


	12. The Initial Meeting

Been a hectic week, heres another installment of Exiled Legend, all I can say is that I'm speeding things up, the pace is too slow for my taste. Expect this story to be in for a twist. On a side note, Harry Potter Book 7 disappointed me, I didn't like the ending and it could have been better.

* * *

Chapter 12: The Initial Meeting

"So this is room 301." Naruto looked blankly at the door. "It doesn't look like much. We went through this much trouble for one lousy door?" Naruto lightly tapped his knuckle against the door, making sure it was the real one this time.

Sasuke smirked. "What fun would that be if we didn't have some sort of trouble?" It was just a few minutes since his fight with Lee finished but ever since then, he has this urged to seek out stronger opponents to test his abilities. "Well let's get going ladies." Sasuke glanced at Naruto while he made that comment.

Naruto chuckled. "Of course, after you second-best." Naruto opened the door and bowed, making the gesture to let Sasuke walk in first.

"Naruto! You shouldn't talk like that to Sasuke-kun." Sakura slapped Naruto lightly on his back. Sasuke smirked as he walked by.

Naruto smiled. "Your right. It was my mistake calling him second best. I should refer to him to dead-last." Sakura looked shocked but ignored it. She had no times for his games, her Sasuke-kun was leaving her behind and she must catch up with him. Naruto only smirked as he watched her chase after her favorite dream.

When he got in, he found Ino latching onto Sasuke, squealing like a girl that just won the grand prize. "Sasuke-kun! I was wondering when you would show up. I have been waiting for you all this time." She continued to hug Sasuke, cuddling herself against him.

Sakura's eyes bulged out when she saw what Ino was doing. She didn't even get to touch her Sasuke-kun in that manner yet. She didn't even get to hold his hand or hug him either. "Damn it Ino-pig! Let go of my Sasuke-kun right now!"

Ino looked at Sakura and stuck her tongue out. "You actually made it here as well forehead girl."

Sakura growled. She wasn't going to let Ino make fun of her like this in front of her Sasuke-kun. She jumped on Sasuke as well, trying to push Ino away.

Sasuke saw the incoming jump and pulled a fast disappearing act. He sighed; he wasn't a toy that people can fight for, he was a living being with somewhat human feelings.

Sakura, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke wasn't there anymore kept going. She had one target in mind and that was killing Ino, nothing else mattered.

Ino yelped in surprise when Sasuke disappeared in front of her and saw Sakura coming closer and closer. Everyone in the room winced when the girls crashed into each other. Well almost everyone. There was one person in the room that was quietly chuckling.

Naruto's laughter at first was small until he saw Sakura getting up, that was when he fell down on the floor just laughing. He clutched his sides from the pains he got while laughing. "Ahaha, forehead girl. What an ingenious name. Look at the size of that forehead!" He pointed at Sakura's head and laughed. Ino couldn't help but started chuckling as well.

Sakura felt her cheeks turning red. She was aware that she was the center of attention but the only thing she wanted to do right now besides hiding was to kill Naruto. Make him suffer her wrath. Everyone stared at the scene for a while before losing interest. Conversations soon began once again in the room.

"Girls are so troublesome." Naruto smiled as he recognized the voice. "This exam is more troublesome Shikamaru." He turned around and greeted his friend. "So how's it going?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "It was a pain; Ino came over and dragged me and Choji out. This is a bigger turned out than I expected."

"Hey you losers actually made it." Kiba shouted as he walked over to the rest of the group. "Looks like all the rookies are all together again." Akamaru barked in response to his master. "Sasuke you sly dog you. You got those girls all to yourself." Sasuke grunted. Hinata and Shino both greeted their peers, the same friends that they graduated the academy with.

Kiba spotted Naruto standing next to Shikamaru and Choji, deeply engaged in a conversation. Kiba smirked. This was the perfect scene; he can have his revenge against him and embarrass him in front of everyone. Ever since that day, his pride as unofficial leader of his team has taken a blow. Kiba whispered something into Akamaru's ear and the dog barked in response before running over to where Naruto was.

Ino and Sakura looked at Kiba curiously, wondering what was going on. "How do you know Naruto Kiba?"

Kiba kept his eye on Akamaru while answering them. "Let's just say that I have a debt that I have to settle with Naruto." He still felt anger towards the blond, the humiliation that he suffered at his hands.

"Kiba-kun… you shouldn't do that." Hinata spoke up quietly. She didn't forget the last time they ran into Naruto. It was her fault that Kiba got hurt. She didn't want a repeat of what happened then to appear here.

"Shh… Quiet down or you'll miss what Akamaru is about to do." The group quietly watched the actions of the small dog, waiting to see what he would do.

Shikamaru sighed. "Why do you think they're staring at us for?" Choji shrugged while continuing to eat his chips. "Who knows? Kiba's been acting a bit weird lately."

Naruto watched the dog come closer from the corner of his eyes. '_What's that dog up to?' _Naruto thought to himself as he saw Akamaru trying to approach him quietly, masking his steps with the noise in the room.

Kiba rubbed his hands together, anticipating the event to come. Everyone watched the dog creeping closer and closer to Naruto, even Sasuke got interested. When Kiba saw Akamaru close enough, he shouted. "Now Akamaru!" The dog jumped up and bit Naruto from behind. Kiba dropped to his knees and started laughing. "Whose tough now loser!"

"Are you sure about that Kiba?" Kiba's eyes widened when he saw a kunai to his neck. He looked down and felt the cold metal on his neck. Everyone stiffened, afraid to move. "What? How come you're not laughing now dog-breath?"

"Na-Naruto!" Everyone looked surprised when the Naruto that Akamaru bit disappeared in smoke, leaving the dog to bark in surprise. Shikamaru looked startled for a second before deciding that it was too troublesome to understand what happen.

"Didn't I warn you last time that if we crossed paths like this, I would kill you?" Kiba gulped. He felt an incredible murderous aura behind him and was afraid to speak.

"You rookies are making too much noise." A voice spoke up. "I think you better release him if you know what's good for you rookie." Naruto looked over to see a teenager with glasses and silver hair standing besides them. "You guys are making too much enemies right now. I'll give you guys a piece of advice. Remove the sword and be quiet." The teenager stared at Naruto, using a tone that was reinforced with authority.

"Tch." Naruto returned the glare before removing his weapon. The girls rushed over to Kiba, making sure he was okay. "Next time dog-face. Next time."

Kiba let out a low growl and was about to jump on Naruto when Ino stopped him. She gave him a warning with her eyes and Kiba slowly took it.

Naruto walked up to the teenager, recognizing the hitai-ate. "So you're a leaf genin…" Naruto paused. He didn't know the boy's name but he didn't care. "Thanks for the warning but I don't care. Next time you have some advice to give, do yourself a favor and shove it up your own ass."

Naruto walked past the boy and found himself staring into a mass of other genins. Naruto smirked. "I don't give a shit who you guys are but if you want to take me on, you better be risking your life. Remember my name, Uzumaki Naruto because when I wipe the floor with you, you'll be begging me to take you as my apprentice." Naruto ended his big speech by bringing his hands down hard on the desk.

Sakura gasps as she watched her teammate just doom them to be targets. Sasuke frowned; the dobe was drawing too much attention to them. Can't he ever learn to ever shut up and learn his place?

Ino poked Sakura on the arm. "Hey forehead girl. Are you sure Naruto's normal?" Sakura lowered her head, feeling the pain and misery from Naruto's action. Naruto continued to talk until another big shot genin walked up to Naruto. Naruto glared at him and the genin backed away in fear. Naruto left his makeshift stage and walked back to his team.

The older boy looked at Naruto with interest. He followed Naruto back and joined their group. "That was some display Naruto-kun." He applauded a little.

Naruto glanced at the boy. "Did anyone tell you that you have the scent of a snake?" The boy backed up in surprise. "W-what?"

Sakura quickly smacked Naruto across the head. "First you make us targets for everyone and now your rude to the only person who was nice to us!"

Naruto only smirked. "My actions were clear. I'm just weeding out the weak. The weak won't survive in this exam."

Sakura was taken back by his words. His words had just brought forth the very fears she was trying to conquer. She knew the blonde was speaking the truth. She felt her fears rising, actually realizing that she was actually the weakest link in this team.

"But don't worry, this exam require us to pass as a team, so just shut up and enjoy the ride." He gave her a half-cocked smile, as if he knew what her fears were.

Sakura felt a weird feeling in her stomach, like an impending doom that was soon to befall her. She shook it off, guessing that Naruto was only messing with her.

Naruto turned his attention to the boy who reeked of snake. "What's your name? It seems like you know our names but we don't know yours."

The boy pushed his glasses up and smiled. "My name is Kabuto and I can give you rookies some pointers."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't like this new kid, moving into his territory and acting like he was the only one who could help them pass.

"How many times have you taken the exam Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked. She deducted that since he was giving them pointers, he must have taken the exam more than once.

"So you know everything there is to this exam huh?" Kiba spoke up.

"Yes I do and with these cards here…" Kabuto reached into his pocket and proceeded to pull out a stack of cards. "These are special info cards that display the information that I collected over the years."

Sakura reached for the top card and turned it over. She became confused when she saw nothing on the other side. "Why is the card blank if you collected information?" She looked at Kabuto with a confused look.

The boy only smiled. "The reason is because these cards only react with my chakra. Go ahead, name some people and I'll give you their details."

"Do you have information about each person here?" Sasuke asked. He was curious to know about certain people. People that he deemed worthy of his time.

Kabuto nodded. "Just give me the names and I'll give you the information."

"Sabaku no Gaara, Rock Lee and Uzumaki Naruto." Everyone looked surprised when Sasuke called out the last name. The rest of the group had a similar thought in mind; shouldn't teammates know each other by now?

Naruto snorted. No surprise there. No one should have any info on him. He was just recently back in the village.

"So you know their names. It makes it a lot easier." Kabuto searched his deck and pulled out a card. He held up the card and applied some chakra to it. "First up is Sabaku no Gaara. Originally from Suna. His mission experience composed of 8 C rank missions and 1 B rank. He returned from all his missions unharmed and unscratched." Kabuto whistled at the information. "Wow he must be good."

Sasuke frowned. He knew that red hair kid was strong but to be able to finish a B mission without getting hurt is a different story.

"Next up is Rock Lee." Kabuto shuffled the first card back into his deck before drawing out the next card. He applied some chakra and read the card out loud. "Rock Lee. He is just one year older than you guys and has completed 20 D rank missions and 11 C rank missions. Oh, what's this? He has no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu but is extraordinary in the field of taijutsu. He is praised for being a skilled genin and this is also his first time taking the exam along with his teammates Tenten and Neji."

Sasuke nodded as Kabuto reshuffled the card back into the deck. He knew of Lee's abilities first hand. As Kabuto reached for the final card, the rookie 9 inched closer. They all wanted to find out what was behind Naruto's story.

Kabuto became aware of the closeness that he was receiving. "Uh... Finally Uzumaki Naruto." He scooted back to give himself a little breathing room. "First time genin taking the exam and was trained by Jiraiya of the legendary Sannin." Kabuto paused for a second, trying to comprehend the card.

"Is that all?" Sasuke felt a bit irritated with the information. He needed more information than just two sentences.

"I guess so." Kabuto shrugged his shoulders and put the cards away. The rest of the rookies was staring at Naruto, both shocked and amazed at the boy.

Naruto smirked. "Don't be jealous now." He turned around and walked over to a corner, just leaning against it with his eyes closed.

"Did you guys know that he was trained by the legendary Jiraiya?" Ino immediately asked.

Sakura shook her head. "We didn't know. All we knew was that he is really strong." The girls began their own conversation, comparing their notes about what they knew about Naruto.

Sasuke on the other hand was in his own world. '_He was trained by someone that strong? That's complete bullshit. He doesn't need it. I need it.'_ Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was quietly leaning against the corner. '_If I beat him, it means that I'm one step closer to beating him…' _

* * *

In his little corner, Naruto was having a rare conversation with his inner self. '_Yo fox. I got a question for you.'_ Over the years, Naruto has conversed with his tenant about a few things. The two kept an on and off relationship that was kept under wraps. 

Naruto waited a second, trying to see if his question would be answer. When nothing came, Naruto concentrated hard and found himself deep inside his mind, a place where he hasn't visited in a while. Naruto walked past the familiar path and into a room with a huge cage.

Naruto smirked. This was all too good to be true. The fox was out cold sleeping and he was free to do something against him. Naruto ran up and kicked the bars, causing a loud sound to echo off from the kick. Naruto stood in front of the cage, waiting for his response. Huge claws suddenly appeared and rammed the cage, just inches away from scarring Naruto's face. "Hello Fox."

Kyuubi growled. **"Insolent brat. How dare you disturb my slumber!" **

Naruto laughed. "You didn't answer me so I came here personally."

Kyuubi retracted his claws and stared at the boy. There was something different about him. Kyuubi sniffed the air. **"Tell me boy, why did you change your ways?" **

Naruto shrugged. "We're not here to catch up fox. We're here to answer my question."

Kyuubi laughed out loud. **"I see, it's because of them that you changed. Pitiful human."**

Naruto had a shocked look on his face. "How did you…"

Kyuubi laughed again. **"You forget. I live in your body. I do more than give you chakra. I am another version of you as you are another version of me. Your memories are my memories foolish mortal. There is nothing that you can hide from me."**

Naruto closed his eyes for a second before opening them. "Is that a fact you overgrown fur ball?"

Kyuubi was shocked, the boy's personality changed. His tone was slightly different but the main difference was his eyes. They were sharp, showing more aggressiveness and wisdom than his happy, sarcastic eyes. This one was more isolated, more dangerous. "What you saw was me trying to adapt, trying to learn but since you wanted the real me, you got it."

Kyuubi wondered about the boy for a second before realizing. **"I see human. Your soul is torn between the old and new you, each struggling for dominance."**

It was Naruto's turn to laugh. "Foolish demon. There is no battle between me. We are one as we have always been. There is only you and me fur ball. Now you will answer me. Why does that kid reek of snakes?"

Kyuubi roared. **"How dare you human! I am the mighty Kyuubi!"**

Naruto cut him off. "That's trapped in a mere mortal's stomach."

Kyuubi struck his claws out once again but like last time, Naruto stood there and the claws did not fully reach. **"If I wasn't trapped in here mortal, I would devour your soul completely."**

Naruto stared at the great beast. "Who else smells like snake fur ball."

Kyuubi growled before answering. **"Orochimaru. The last of the sannins." **The fox spat out the answer. **"That kid has the same scent as him." **

Naruto smiled and bowed. "Thanks fuzz ball." Naruto turned around and began to walk away. **"Wait."**

Naruto stopped in his tracks, wondering what else the fox could want. **"Be careful brat. He's a sannin for a reason."**

Naruto smirked and waved his hand in the air. "Don't worry. I'm always careful." Naruto felt himself leaving his other world and as he opened his eyes, the images in front of him was disturbing. Somehow, he found himself the center of attention, drawing the attention of everyone. He quickly looked around, wondering what's going on.

The entire room was silent, no one was taking and everyone was looking at him. Naruto mentally cursed himself. He must have unconsciously released his barriers while he was in the other world. He saw Ino, Sakura and Hinata staring into his face, like if he had something on it. "Can you guys stop staring at me? It's really rude."

The girls jumped up in surprised. Hinata had a blush on her face and looked away. Sakura smacked Naruto. "Baka. What happened?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know." Naruto pushed Sakura away and was about to walk off when Ino grabbed his arm. "Wait. Naruto."

Naruto quickly turned his head and Ino saw those eyes, those cold empty eyes. "Ino-san. I don't like people touching me like that." Ino felt her legs feeling weak, her chest feeling heavy and found it difficult to breathe. She quickly let go and fell to her knees.

Naruto continued to walk until he spotted the person he wanted to see. Kabuto felt himself feeling nervous. It wasn't a normal feeling. He could feel the aura just radiating off the boy. He tried to look normal but it was hard when there was a pair of eyes focused on him. Everyone watched as Naruto made his way over to Kabuto.

As Naruto closed in, he was intercepted by Sasuke. "Get out of my way."

Sasuke stood there, blocking the path. "No. We want an explanation Naruto. What the hell happened back there? You never had that much power before."

Naruto growled. He didn't have time for this useless chat. "My personal business is none of your concern. I'll make this clear, get out of my way." Naruto was about to shove Sasuke out of the way when he saw someone else stepping forward.

"No." A new voice joined in. Kiba moved next to Sasuke. "We're not moving unless you tell us what the hell happened Naruto."

Naruto gritted his teeth. His target was right in front of him and there was a huge obstacle stopping him. Time was of the essence. "Look, why don't you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what happened." Naruto wasn't sure himself what happened but the quickest way out of this solution is to let them talk. He never lost control over his chakra like that before. It might be worth listening to their views rather than to second-guess yourself.

Sasuke gave him a suspicious look before nodding. After describing to Naruto what happened, everyone waited to hear the boy's response.

Naruto hesitated, unsure of how to answer. When he was about to answer, the door was kicked open and a big man in a trench coat walked in. The occupants in room 301 was silent, all the attention that was on Naruto was drawn to the new man.

Naruto silently thanked the man for interrupting at the right time. '_Ero-sennin told me that I wouldn't lose control like this. Damn that man and his ways. I'll deal with him later.'_

The man looked around the room, everyone flinched from his intense stare. "Okay you worthless maggots, get in your seats. I am your instructor for the first part of the exam. My name is Ibiki Morino. Remember it well!" The man walked into the room, insulting every genin as he passed. "Are you guys waiting for a fancy invitation or something? Get into your seats now you idiots."

Everyone looked at the man confused. There were no postings on the door nor was there any anywhere in the room. Ibiki laughed. It wasn't a normal laugh. It was a cold laughter from someone who didn't care. He raised his arms and shouted. "Kai!"

The empty blackboard was now filled with names and seat numbers. The genins looked shocked, they didn't even detect it. "If your not in your seat in 10 seconds, you're disqualified!" Ibiki shouted at the genins.

"You can't do that!" A brave grass genin retorted back.

"You miserable worm. This is my room and if you don't like to, get out! 8 seconds people." The other chunnins grinned. The genins frantically rushed to the board, trying to locate their names.

Naruto sighed. How dumb were these genins. Mobbing each other would cause more damage than good. If they were smart, they would have formed lines or used their surrounds to go at this. He jumped on to the ceiling and walked over to the board.

Ibiki noticed the boy. He smirked. The boy was smart, using the environment to their fullest. "3 seconds!" After the remaining time ran out, Ibiki frowned. The genins all made it to their seats and all within the given time. He signaled his helpers to start handing out the papers. "Okay short and simple so I don't waste my time with you insolent brats. This is a paper exam and you are to answer all 10 questions. The 10th question will be given after an hour into the exam."

Naruto took a quick glance around the room, all the chunnins were sitting at the end of the rows with clipboards that were probably there to monitor them. After Ibiki finished explaining the rules, he quickly flipped over the paper and glanced at the questions. He laughed to himself. There was no way he can answer these questions. They were too god damn hard. He glanced around the room again and saw that every genin was still looking at the papers but a few were already writing.

He suddenly got an idea. Ninjas didn't care about some trigonometry equation but they did care about how they got the job done. They were probably testing them on how they would get through this situation. He saw that Hinata and Neji quickly activated their bloodline and started scanning the room. Sasuke had the Sharingan activated and was copying movements. He saw that other teams have started to understand the true meaning of this test.

He heard a tapping sound right next to him and saw that it was Hinata trying to get his attention. He smiled when he saw what she was saying to him. '_Move your hand if you can understand what I'm saying.'_ Naruto quickly moved his left hand and Hinata let out a small smile. She repeated her answers to the boy next to her, hoping that it can do him some good.

After a good hour, Ibiki smirked to himself. The number of genins had decreased dramatically during the first hour. This was a good start but the best was yet to come. It was time for the final judgment, the time to see if these genins had the integrity and intelligence to get them to the next level. "Okay you trash. It is time for the last question but before I ask you the last question, I have to ask you this question first. You guys must decide if you want to take the question or not. If you decide to take it and fail, you are doomed to stay a genin forever." He emphasized the word forever. He saw genins starting to squirm in their seats, crumbling under his pressure.

"You can't do that!" A genin cried out.

Ibiki smirked. "This is my exam. This is how I do it. If you don't like it, tough shit kid. You lucked out when you got me for an examiner."

The genin quiet down, unsure of what to do. Naruto found himself shaking. The aura leaking from the man was incredible. He was able to spread despair and the feeling of doom with the blink of an eye. He tried to keep his hand down. Before he could react, several other hands shot up. He turned around and saw genins raising their hands one by one to quit.

"If you quit now, you are free to take the exam again but if you take the last question and fail. Well it sucks to be you worthless trash."

"Screw you Ibiki." Ibiki turned around and was surprised to see the kid from before standing up. "I won't run away from your damn challenge. I faced worse challenges before. I dealt with worse situations than you could imagine. If I run away here, all I done before would have been for nothing. I will take this exam and pass it!" Naruto finished his speech by slamming his hand down. He felt his heart pounding. He had no clue why he just did that.

Ibiki frowned. The kid just wiped out all the uncertainty and despair that he had created. He didn't know who this kid was but he was something different. He took a quick glance around the room. '_32 teams…'_ He nodded to his other examiners, to let them know that this the final cut, the people that he was passing. "In that case… you all… pass!"

Naruto slightly lowered his jaw. "W-what?" He didn't understand what just happened. "What the hell did you just say? What about the 10th question?"

Ibiki chuckled. "There is no 10th question or if you want to count the question I just asked as the 10th question. This exam is based on your ability to gather information. Those who fail to gather the correct information will cause the mission to end up in failure. Information is everything when completing a mission. How much information you have depends on the success or failure of a mission."

Ibiki glared at the genins before reaching up for his bandana. He carefully removed it and waited for their expressions. He heard several people in the room gasp in surprise. "This is what happens when you are playing with information. When you get caught, torture by any means is used to get that information out of you. Being ninjas is not a game. You guys are putting the lives of your teammates in your hands when you do missions. Lives cannot be bought and it certainly cannot be toyed with. The point of this exam is to see whether or not you guys are ready for this level of ninja yet. Those that fail to see the true meaning of this test does not deserve the rank of chunnin. We have been observing you carefully, those that fail to conceal themselves while cheating are not mature enough to advance yet."

Ibiki put the bandana on his head and smiled. "Part one of the chunnin exam is now complete!" Just as Ibiki finished announcing the end of the first part, a figure mysteriously crashed through the window, causing the glass to scatter everywhere. "Alright maggots. I am Anko Mitarashi. I am your proctor for the second part of the exam!" She gave the genins a smirk, but received nothing in return.

Anko looked around and counted up the teams. "Eh Ibiki, you realize your passing 32 teams here."

Ibiki nodded. "We have some good material this year."

Anko gave the genins a creepy smile. "Don't worry, I guarantee that I'll cut those teams in half."

Sakura let out a small squeak. This wasn't good. '_I don't want to fail here.'_ She tried to look back with confidence but she couldn't muster enough courage to do it.

Naruto was taken by surprise. '_What a grand entrance…'_ He would have never thought someone would enter like that. He smirked. That was cool. He was going to remember it.

The rest of the passing teams had one thought in mind. '_Why are all the weird people in one room?'_ Anko let out a little cough when it was dead silent. "Okay meet me at area 44 now!" She jumped out the window and Ibiki shrugged. "Just follow her." He started walking out the door, leaving the genins to think for themselves.

* * *

Anko stood in front of a tent, smiling at the teams as they slowly arrived. "Congratulations on passing part 1. Standing behind me is part 2." She pointed behind her. Everyone looked at the area behind her. They were amazed to see such a forest like this. Not a shed of light could be seen coming out of the forest. 

"As the name states. This is the forest of death. Before we proceed, I will be handing out release forms that will release me and Konoha from responsibility in case that you die in there." She could feel their fear increasing, their anxieties building up. She smirked. There was nothing like scaring genins to brighten up your day.

"It doesn't look that tough." She turned around and overheard a conversation between a blond kid and his teammates. "Are you scared pinky? Uchiha here can protect you." Anko smiled. This is the part where she makes herself welcome. She silently disappeared.

As usual, Sasuke paid no attention to Naruto's pathetic attempts of staring a normal conversation. He was too busy watching the other teams. He ignored the star-struck look that Sakura had on her face.

Sakura noticed that Sasuke's attention was at some place else and it wasn't focused on her. "Damn it Naruto. Look at what you done. Now Sasuke-kun's ignoring me."

"Tch, lucky bastard. He ignored you first. Now I can't." Naruto shook his head in defeat.

"It's not just a walk in the park rookie." Naruto's eyes widened. He felt something warm breathing down his neck before something cold nicking his cheek. He turned his eyes to see purple hair. "Greetings second examiner. Mitarashi-san was it?" Naruto responded coldly.

Anko licked the blood off her kunai. "You're an interesting kid. You don't seem afraid of me like your other teammates." Anko smiled at Sakura. "Did I scare you kid?"

Sakura slowly shook her head. In reality, she almost screamed when she saw a woman appear behind Naruto and wounding him on the cheek. Anko glanced at the last Uchiha. "There is more to the exam than you think."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you have the scent of a snake?" Anko immediately let go, wondering how the boy knew that. "Oh… so you don't deny it…" Naruto walked closer, carefully examining Anko.

Anko stared at the boy, his whole aura just changed. Before, he was just some kid but now he was just different. Her mind was screaming to run and just leave the area as fast as you can. Anko slowly answered the boy, trying to overcome this impending fear. "I don't answer to some brat."

Naruto gave her a serious expression. "I just want some information. There are a few people here who reek of snakes. What is your relation to all this?" His tone was firm yet cold, determined to get some answers.

Anko scowl. The brat was seriously getting on her nerves and she wasn't allow to injure any of the participants. Naruto stopped in front of Anko, waiting for some sort of answer. "Look, I didn't want to resort to this but you're leaving me with no other options."

Anko saw Naruto moving his hands towards his back but as she watch him go half way, the boy flinched from something hitting him.

Naruto turned his focus to Sasuke. "What the hell was that teme?"

Sasuke glared at his teammate. "Are you trying to get us disqualified?"

Naruto thought about it. "I guess not." He turned his attention to back to Anko. "Don't leave town now. I just want to talk."

Anko blinked. Was this kid threatening her? A kid that's half her size? Oh hell no. "Just don't die until then gaki." Anko laughed while walking back to the tent.

Naruto sighed, "Oh smooth Sasuke. Do you always have to get in my way? If you keep this up, it may get you kill in the future." Naruto watched his prey's retreating figure. She has no place to hide. He'll find her sooner or later.

Anko calmed herself down, that was a new experience for her. She mentally told herself to get back to finish, there are jobs to be done and genins to fail. "Listen up people. I want each team to walk into the tent one by one to hand us your forms and while in there, we will be handing you either a heaven or earth scroll for the exam."

Anko looked around before continuing. "The object of this portion of the exam is to retrieve the other scroll. If you have the Heaven scroll, you have to get the earth and vice versa. Once you have the scrolls, you must reach the center tower in 5 days or your team won't qualify. It has to be with your team or else you guys won't qualify as well. So now lets get this thing started." Anko walked inside a tent while a nearby chunnin started directing different teams into different tents.

When Team 7 had their turn in the tent, the chunnin accepted their forms and handed them a heaven scroll. Naruto accepted the scroll and twirled it around with his fingers. "So whose going to carry it?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You can carry it for all I care." Naruto nodded and pocketed the scroll. Team 7 walked out of the tents and near the entrance of the gates, getting a good look at it.

* * *

"Okay! When I say start, the gates will open and the exam will begin. Good luck to you all." Anko started counting down in her head, watching the anxious teams to get started. When the timer in her head hit one, she shouted for the guards to open the gate. "Go!" 

All 32 teams present sprinted forward into Area 44. Naruto took the lead, leading them into another part of the forest. "I think we should go straight for the tower."

Sasuke frowned. "Why are we running away? Are you afraid dobe?"

Naruto sighed. "Try to keep up Sasuke. She said all teams must report to the tower so the only way they can get into the tower is if they have the scrolls… Do you see where I'm going with it?"

Sasuke nodded his head. "Not a bad idea dobe. Only the strong will make it to the tower."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "That's the plan."

Naruto touched the scroll once again, feeling glad that it was there. He sighed. He had a bad feeling about this forest. There was something else going on.

"Naruto keep up!" Naruto looked up and saw his teammates already leaving the area. "Aw come on guys!" He quickly gathered some chakra to his feet and blasted off, not wanting to be the last one to leave.

'_Ku ku ku, I finally found you Sasuke Uchiha…'_ A pair of eyes carefully swept the area. A figure appeared from out of the tree, with a sinister smile on her face. "Don't disappoint me Sasuke-kun…" She watched as the young genins rush off without detecting her presence.

* * *

"Let's take a break here. We can't afford to be too tired." Sasuke pointed downward, to an open area. The rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement. There's no point in tiring themselves before they reach the tower. 

"Hey guys, go ahead, I have to do something." Naruto twisted in midair and leaped away.

"Geez that guy." Sakura sighed. Naruto always left without telling them a reason or whatnot. Sometimes she wish she can just beat him to the ground until he learned some proper manners.

"Here." Sakura turned around and saw Sasuke offering her a nutrient bar. She smiled. "Thank you Sasuke-kun."

"Hey guys, want some food?" The group turned around to see Naruto coming towards with food in his hands. "I got plenty, don't be shy." He offered the food, with a grin on his face.

Sakura was about to reach for one when Sasuke suddenly dragged her back and held up a kunai. "Where is Naruto you fake."

"Fake?" Sakura had a confused look on her face. "Sasuke-kun, what are you doing? That's Naruto in front of us."

Sasuke shook his head. "Take a look at him. His weapon holster is on the wrong leg and the real Naruto wouldn't be this kind." He flung his kunai straight at the fake Naruto.

"Ku ku ku. Very observant Sasuke-kun." The fake Naruto caught the kunai with ease and dispelled the illusion. Once the smoke cleared, there was a female standing before them. She glanced at the two genins. "I have come for you Sasuke-kun."

She narrowed her eyes and smiled. "I know you have the Heaven Scroll and I happened to have the Earth Scroll." She took out her scroll for them to verify. "You want our scroll right?" She laughed as she started to swallow the scroll.

Sakura gasped. _'That is so disgusting.'_

"Now.. The fight for the scrolls begins with our life!" The woman grips her face, showing her cold eyes. Sasuke and Sakura froze on the spot, unable to move. Images of their death flash through their minds. The woman took out a pair of kunais, each grazing her skin before smiling. "This is the end for you." She flung the kunais, aimed for their head.

Sasuke saw the kunais coming straight for them. '_Damn it move. MOVE!' _He reached for kunai from his pouch and stabbed it into his knee. He felt his body responding to the pain and dived for Sakura, successfully pushing her out of the way. He felt the Sharingan rapidly spinning in his eyes as if it was coming alive. The woman saw the infamous Uchiha bloodline. '_The famed Sharingan.'_ She smiled. It will only be a matter of time before she gets her hands on it.

Sasuke found himself on the ground, staring at the enemy. She was on a whole other level and he couldn't shake those images of their death out of his mind. He watched as that, that thing come closer and closer. _'The killing intent… it's too much.'_

She smiled. This was too easy. She caught it with her long tongue. "This is so disappointing…" She watched as Sasuke prepared some hand seals before shouting. "**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu.**"

Sasuke spat several fireballs straight at the lady. The woman dodged and looked around but found that her prey has evaded her. She grinned. "This is interesting." Sasuke took Sakura and ran like the wind. Running and creating enough distance between them and the psychopath lady. '_She's not someone we can beat. Where is Naruto!'_

Meanwhile in another part of the forest.

"Damn it, why are there so snakes here!" Naruto jumped from another branch. So far, he counted 3 different snakes that tried to eat him. "I knew I shouldn't have split up from them." Naruto continued through the forest, trailing his other teammates. As Naruto got back to the point where he left his teammates, he saw signs of a battle. '_It looks like Sasuke had to use a Katon Jutsu.'_ Naruto looked around, trying to spot a trail. He spotted a set of footprints following the other two. 'A_nd it also looks like they may have another guest soon.' _He immediately set out to chase after his teammates, sensing that they would be needing his help.

Naruto sped up his speed, trying to make it in time to his teammates. As he got closer, he heard sounds of explosion and fighting. As he got there, he stayed in the shadow, trying to see what was happening. Sasuke could have handled the situation but then again maybe not.

"Look, if we give you the scroll, will you leave us alone?" Sasuke was going to plead with the woman, maybe she would let us go if he handed it over.

"I don't think so Sasuke-kun." The woman immediately flung some more kunais at them. Sasuke stood there, already low on chakra to move. '_Damn it. I can't die here. I'm not even close!' _

The sharingan in his eyes glared hard at the approaching projectiles, but his body wasn't listening to his commands. '_Move damn it Move!' _

Sakura let out a scream as she closed her eyes and awaited for the screams of pain from her Sasuke-kun. When she heard nothing, she saw that her Sasuke-kun was still standing but was staring at the ground. The woman frowned. Someone else was here. She tried looking around, trying to see if reinforcements had arrived.

"You reek of snake." The woman's eyes widened. She turned around and was greeted by a hard kick to the stomach. She was sent flying into a tree. Naruto stood back up and walked over to his other teammates. "You okay scaredy cats?" Naruto noticed a dazed look in Sasuke's eyes before the boy snapped out of it. "Just rest for a while. This fight is beyond your comprehending."

Naruto stood in front of Sasuke, waiting for the lady to reappear. "Ku ku ku, I don't know who you are but you're pretty good to get a kick off me." A woman appear from the ground. Naruto stared at the lady, silently analyzing his options. "Don't get so full of yourself. You really smell for a lady."

She frowned. "You're a rude child." The lady melted into the ground. Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying to locate where she'll strike next. _'In front, left, right no. Behind!_' Naruto quickly turned around and pushed Sasuke out of the way and took the hit meant for Sasuke. Naruto flipped away, slowly analyzing his opponent.

The lady chuckled. "Very nice. You managed to push Sasuke-kun out of the way and dodge at the last second, taking minimum damage."

Naruto quickly took out a scroll and wiped some blood on it. The scroll disappeared in a puff of smoke and Naruto quickly latched on to the weapon.

Naruto quickly charged in, holding the sword firmly in his hand. He jumped into the air, getting a clear view of his opponent. "Die!" Naruto came down with a vertical slash but was blocked by a kunai. Naruto grunted as he tried to push harder, wanting to cut the blade in half. Naruto noticed the expression on the her face. She wasn't even trying to fight back. The force from the impact cause winds disperse from the area, detailing that a lot of force was put into that attack.

She looked at Naruto with a bored look. "Is this all you got?"

Naruto smirked, "Not by a long shot." Naruto loosen one hand on the sword and reversed the blade for an upward slash towards the face.

As soon as Naruto touch the lady, she began to melt into mud. "Bushin?" Naruto turned around and found copies of the same lady. "It doesn't matter how many there are of you, I'll still kill you." Naruto relaxed into a familiar stance, arm arched back and the Tenro held straight.

In just a split second, Naruto charged forward, not caring which clone is the real one or not. He'll just cut his way through. "**Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku.**" Naruto ran straight into the clones, successfully executing the attack. Naruto stood there, with his back facing the clones. He heard the sounds of clones disappearing, all of them except for one. He turned around, seeing the woman just standing there smiling.

Naruto noticed something odd about the wound. It wasn't a deep wound but it should have been deep enough for blood to ooze out.

"That's a very interesting attack you have." The lady stood there, dusting herself off. Naruto's eyes widened, the lady took a direct hit and was still conscious. Unbelievable. The lady noticed a wound on her face. She smirked as she put her hands to it. Naruto couldn't believe the next thing she did. She tore her face off.

Naruto was caught off guard by her actions. He felt like vomiting to see a person do that to his or her own face. As he got a closer look, it was only a mask, covering the face. "You…" Naruto became shock, recognizing the face. "Orochimaru… We finally meet."

Orochimaru laughed. "It seems that you know my name boy." Naruto chuckled. After all this time he spent with Ero-sennin, he knew the stories of their accomplishments and disappointments. He knew he was outclassed here. His only option was to take everyone and run away. Naruto began to flip through some hand seals but stopped when he saw Orochimaru disappear. Naruto turned his head, trying to find the snake. He then heard a scream, most likely coming from Sakura. He quickly turned around and saw Orochimaru leering over them. "Consider this my farewell gift Sasuke-kun." The man stretched out his neck and bit the boy. Sasuke screamed in agony, feeling the pain from the bite.

Naruto ran as fast as he could but it was too late. Sasuke howled in pain, hands on his neck, trying to numb the pain. "No! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out as he ran forward, trying to get Orochimaru. He unconsciously leaked some of the demon's chakra into his own while charging forward.

Orochimaru felt a second chakra source coming from Naruto. He immediately recognized the chakra signature. "Well well… it seems like the tales of the Yondime was untrue. You certainly have defied the odds." Orochimaru ran forward, meeting Naruto half way. Naruto threw a punch at Orochimaru but he missed.

Orochimaru ducked under and smiled. "Sasuke-kun won't be the only one who will be receiving a gift today." The man flashed through some hand seals and shouted. "**Gogyo Fuin.**" Orochimaru rammed his fingers into Naruto's stomach, sending the boy back into a tree.

Naruto groaned in pain, he felt the fox's chakra no longer lingering in his body. He tried to summon more youki chakra but he couldn't grasp it. His vision started to sway back and forth, unable to see straight. Not before long Naruto lost consciousness, falling down to the ground.

Orochimaru smirked. The brat wasn't that much of a challenge. He walked up to Sasuke again. He looked at Sakura, who was standing in front of him shaking. "You can't stop me little girl. Sasuke-kun will seek me out. He is an avenger who will do anything to gain power, even if it means that he'll sell his soul to achieve it." Orochimaru laughed before disappearing.

Sakura tried to calm herself down, unable to move herself. She looked over to the other area, seeing that Naruto was also down for the count. They were lucky that they were alive. This guy beat Sasuke-kun and even Naruto with ease. She felt her heart beating before she broke down crying. She didn't know what to do anymore, her teammates were beaten and unconscious and she was in the middle of a dangerous forest. After a good few minutes of crying, she decided that she will have to move them somewhere safe and it was up to her to take care of everything.

* * *

"Ino don't!" Shikamaru tackled Ino down to the ground, forcing her not to move. 

"What do you think your doing Shikamaru!" She started to yell at him. This was not the right way of treating a lady.

"If you look at where you're going, you would have stepped into a trap." Ino looked down and saw the invisible string. She stopped her ranting to think about what might have happened if she stepped on that line. She shuddered at that thought. "Thank you Shikamaru." She looked at the boy. For a person whose so lazy, he certainly is cautious.

* * *

Sakura took turns with nursing her teammates. It was a hassle just to drag the two of them into this location but it was even a bigger hassle to set up all those traps. She sighed, she didn't know when the both of them would be back up but it didn't look like it was anytime soon. They didn't even have their require scrolls and they only had 4 days left. 

There was a sound of a snapping twig that immediately caught her attention. She quickly turned around and was met face to face with the team of sound genins. "Hello little girl." The boy with bandages over his face spoke. "We're here for Uchiha Sasuke. If you give us to him, we'll even consider about letting you live."

The other boy laughed. "I can't believe he was chosen by Orochimaru."

"Dosu, Zaku. What the hell are you doing. Let's just kill the boy and be done with it." The girl smacked the both of them on the head.

"I'll handle this then." Zaku stepped forward, grinning. "These babies been itching to come out." He held out his hands and was about to rush forward when he was intercepted by a mysterious figure. The figure appeared in front of Zaku and upper kicked him from the stomach, sending him back to his teammates.

The sound team gasp as they were caught by surprise. Sakura looked at her savior in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened. She recognized her savior though, it was someone that she couldn't forget.

"Lee-san…"

The green genin stood in front of Sakura with his left hand behind his back and his right palm open, daring his opponents to attack. "I promised that I would protect you Sakura-san and I intend to do it."

* * *

I can changes in many of the peoples personality. Others will begin to change soon as well. Hope to see you all soon. 


	13. The Genin Rebirth

Well, I couldn't get my mind off the last chapter so I went ahead and did something even better. I feel that last chapter wasn't upto my regular standards and I apologize for it. This one should makeup for it. I like to thank all the fans out there that stuck with me and I wouldn't like to disappoint them. Without further ado, heres the next chapter. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I own those corny lines.

* * *

Last time on Naruto 

_The sound team backed away when the mystery guest caught them off guard. Sakura looked at her savior in shock, unable to believe the turn of events. She recognized her savior though; it was someone that she couldn't forget._

_"Lee-san…"_

_The green genin stood in front of Sakura with his left hand behind his back and his right palm open, daring his opponents to attack. "I promised that I would protect you Sakura-san and I intend to do it."_

* * *

Chapter 13: The Genin Rebirth 

"Don't worry Sakura-san. While the mighty Green Beast of Konoha is here, no one shall lay a hand on you." Lee gave Sakura his good-guy posed.

Sakura looked at Lee, torn between if she rather let the bad guys kill or let Lee save her. Either way, the outcome was not favorable for her. She looked at Lee, who had a determined look on his face and a… Sakura blinked, she looked a little bit closer. A chipmunk? Lee had a chipmunk on his shoulders? Talk about fantasies that don't come true. Her knight, no, her ninja in shining armor was not on a horse but rather in a green body suit and has a chipmunk for a horse. Sakura gave him a rather forced smile. "Thanks… Lee-san."

Lee flashed her a good-guy smile, one that rivals his sensei's. He wanted to assure the girl that everything would be fine, just like any gentlemen would do.

"I'll kill you!" Zaku cried out. He charged in blindly, his right fist arched back a little.

Lee saw the advance and sidestepped the attack. He was about to perform a leg sweep when he felt someone else coming from behind him. Dosu appeared behind him and tried to backhand Lee. Lee ducked under the backhand and jumped away from the double-team. Lee landed in front of Sakura but fell on his knees, his hands clutching his ears in pain.

Sakura rushed over to his side, trying to see what happened. "Lee-san! Are you okay?"

Lee stared at her, wondering why he could see her mouth moving but no sounds were coming out. He slowly rubbed his ears, trying to see if numbing the pain would help.

Dosu smirked from under his bandages, "Your friend won't be hearing anything for a while. I increased the frequency of my sounds to just give him a taste of deafness." Sakura began to panic as she watched Lee desperately trying to get his hearing back. She felt weak in the knees, her body shaking from the fear.

"Zakuha!" Zaku shouted before releasing his sound wave attack. Large rumbling appeared behind Lee and Sakura. '_Move oh please move!'_ Sakura screamed at herself but her body wasn't responding. She watched as an invisible force came closer and closer. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain but found herself floating in air instead.

She slowly opened her eyes, wondering if heaven was green instead of white. She felt a pair of strong hands holding her close. "Don't worry Sakura-san. I got you." She looked up and saw Lee holding her while dodging the attack. The pair landed back on the ground, just between the enemy and their friends.

"The girl's mine." Kin stepped forward, malice in her voice. "I hate girls like you, being so glamorous and popular but your nothing here. In here, the strong survives and the weak dies!" She took out some needles and threw them at Sakura.

Sakura quickly took out a kunai but clumsily handled the weapon, intimidated by her opponent. She managed to dodge one needle and deflect another but the kunai slipped out from her hands, leaving herself wide open to the rest of the assault. She embraced herself to take the pain but none of that came. Lee pushed her out of the way and took the needle attack himself.

"Arg." Lee cried out in pain. He clutched his shoulder, trying to deal with the pain.

"Don't let your guard down fool." Dosu appeared from behind Lee and kicked him towards Zaku. "Eat it! Zakuha!" Zaku felt satisfied when he saw his attack hit the genin directly in the face. Lee was sent back tumbling across the ground, groaning in pain.

Sakura watched in horror as Lee continued to be assaulted by the sound team while she was sitting here feeling helpless. '_Why am I always so helpless…'_ She saw Lee falling back down as he tried to get back up. '_**That's because you are helpless.'**_ Sakura felt her eyes tearing up, knowing that subconscious was speaking the truth. '_**Get up and help him!'**_ Sakura slowly got up, small sniffles could be heard from her.

Kin noticed the girl finally getting up. "Aw. Did we hurt your boyfriend too much? Don't cry, you'll be joining him soon."

Sakura looked up, fierce determination showing in her eyes. "I'm not crying because of that. I'm crying because I finally realize what a stuck up girl I was but no more!" Sakura threw some shurikens at the girl, expecting her to dodge.

Kin laughed at the pathetic attempt. "Is that all you got?" She merely moved to one side, letting the projectiles harmlessly pass her.

"Nope." Sakura charged forward, performing a basic academy jutsu that she spent hours practicing. "**Bushin no Jutsu**." Three Sakura clones appeared besides her, all running towards the girl. The clones quickly threw their kunais at Kin but they too missed their target.

"What are you aiming for pinky?" Kin's attention wasn't focused on the weapons but on the sad attempts by the girl. She suddenly heard a snap and saw a barrage of weapons coming towards her. She cursed herself for being so careless.

"I was called the brainy one in school because I studied hard." Kin heard the girl talking as she leaped away.

"I never excelled at anything besides academics and I was always picked on by bullies." Sakura quickly appeared in front of Kin and gave the girl a firm head butt, sending both of them spiraling towards the ground. "But never again." Sakura twisted her body in mid air and flipped upside down, bringing her leg down on Kin, sending her towards the ground with a greater impact. Sakura stood in front of a fallen Kin, heavily breathing. "I will never be helpless again."

"Sakura-san, LOOK OUT!" Sakura heard Lee's warning a little too late and saw Zaku standing in front of her.

"Your mine now." Zaku raised his arm, intending to blast Sakura with his sound.

"Not this time you oversize jerk." Sakura quickly put her hands behind her head and the next thing she surprised everyone. Without a second thought, she cut her prized hair, the very hair that she cherished. When she felt the last strand of hair cut, she quickly threw it in Zaku's face, distracting him long enough.

Lee looked up from the ground, surprised to see pink hair flying everywhere. He watched as Sakura flung her freshly cut hair at Zaku's face, distracting him for a moment. "Yosh! I won't let Sakura-san's sacrifice go in vain!" Lee dashed forward, greeting Dosu with a spinning heel to the face, sending Dosu straight to the ground. Lee continued running straight for Zaku.

"Do it now Lee-san!" Sakura jumped back, giving Lee enough room to execute his attack.

"Omote Renge." Lee shouted at unexpected Zaku. This was the attack that he worked hard to master, the attack that he took pride in. Lee shot up from the ground with a hard kick that connected with Zaku's chin, sending him flying upwards. Lee immediately jumped up after him, hitting a pressure point on his back, rendering Zaku helpless. "This is for Sakura-san!" Lee put his arms around the boy and began to spiral downwards towards the ground.

Dosu watched as he saw his partner plummet towards the ground. He quickly put dig his hands deep into the earth and released a hitch pitch frequency that overturned the hard earth, making it soft. Lee was unaware of what Dosu was doing so he drove Zaku straight into the soft earth, nullifying his attack. Lee let go of the fallen Zaku, slowly getting up but fell down again, unable to get up.

Sakura quickly rushed to his side, making sure he was okay. "Lee-san, are you okay?" Lee let out a small reply but that was all Sakura needed to know. Sakura stood in front of Lee, as he once did for her. He was in no condition to fight and it was up to her now to protect everyone. Everyone was counting on her and she cannot let them down. Not after what happened.

"Our patience is running out. Your life ends here!" Just as Zaku was about to perform his attack, chakra levels exploded from nowhere, drawing the attention of everyone.

* * *

Sasuke awaken from his slumber, feeling the power cruising through his veins. He looked at himself, as if he was in a dream or not. He simply couldn't believe the power that he now has. 

"I finally understand the path that is open to me. I am an avenger; I will do anything for power, even if it means selling my soul to the devil for power." He spoke to himself, not caring if anyone heard him. He felt alive with all this power, the power to finally achieve his goals.

He heard a laughter coming from outside the makeshift bed. He glanced over to see two guys standing in front of Sakura and a beaten up Lee. He smirked. "This would be a great time to test them out."

* * *

Sakura stood her ground calmly, not giving in. She was trying to look for a way out, but just as all hope was about to be lost, someone appeared in front of her, standing between her and Zaku. She slowly looked up and saw a boy that awfully looks a lot like her Sasuke-kun. He even has the same clothes as him except her Sasuke-kun didn't have dark tattoo marks on one side of his body. "Who did this to you Sakura?" 

"Sa-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura blinked twice, surprised to see the changes that occurred on Sasuke's body.

"It was me. You got a problem about it?" Zaku boasted out, he wasn't afraid of this rookie. He had to find out why Orochimaru-sama valued this kid so much.

Sasuke looked at the boy, wondering who he was. "You talk big for a small man. Does picking on girls make you feel like a man?"

Zaku's rage soon took over, his pride wounded. "Die! Zankūkyokuha!" Zaku released the blast towards the new kid, the one who Orochimaru deemed worthy. "Let's see if you survive this!" Zaku watched as his ultimate technique met the target, causing an explosion that caused him to smile. "I knew he was nothing."

"Your attack was pretty weak." Zaku looked shock, not only did this kid dodge the attack; he also picked up the other two as well while moving. "You seem pretty fond of those arms." Zaku looked around, not able to find Sasuke anywhere.

"Zaku, behind you!" Zaku heeded the warning a bit too late and found Sasuke behind him. Sasuke smiled. "You won't need these arms now." Sasuke pulled Zaku's arm back, intending to break it. Zaku yelled in pain, feeling the stress that Sasuke was applying to his arms.

* * *

Naruto looked around, not recognizing the location. He was a regular visitor in his mindscape but this area new to him. It wasn't the dark murky labyrinth maze he was used to, this one was different. It was filled with doors that could lead him anywhere. 

"Where… am I?" Naruto thought out loud as he stared at the endless supply of doors. He felt his body moving, not really sure why it was moving but felt to.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto called out; maybe the fox could shed some light on this change. "KYUUBI ANSWER ME!" Naruto shouted out, trying to get the demon's attention.

Just as Naruto walked past a door, he felt a strong aura radiating from it. His body seem to respond to the calling, like it was reaching out to him. Naruto opened the door, somewhat afraid of what truths lay beyond that door.

He felt his hands shaking as he reached for the doorknob but with a fierce determination, Naruto pulled the door open. When he stepped through the door, the entire room started to vanish and standing before him was two tombstones, lying in the middle of a cemetery. Naruto stared at the two figures sitting on top of the tombstones, smiling at him.

"It's about time you got here." The first voice called out to him.

"Yup, we were starting to get bored." The second voice added in.

Naruto, unable to respond, stood there shock. He was met face to face with two people who looked just like him, except that one was in all black clothes while the other one was dressed in all white. "Who- Who are you guys?" Naruto asked, unable to comprehend the situation. He didn't create these clones and he didn't feel the usual connection between his clones.

"We are you but we are also not you." The black clothed Naruto answered. "I'm the piece that represents the Kyuubi factor and he." The Kyuubi Naruto pointed towards the other half. "Is the purified Naruto."

Naruto looked that him strangely. "You're not making any sense here!" Naruto scratched his head, getting confused by the situation.

"We represent the fragmented pieces of your soul." The white clothed Naruto hopped down from the tombstone, stretching his legs. "Ever since Orochimaru put that seal to contain your demon chakra, it did something more. It split your soul into pieces. Even before that snake, we have been battling for dominance in here."

Naruto walked over, examining the other two Narutos. When he finally distinguished that they were real and not fake, he came to the conclusion that he had finally gone crazy. "This is the part where I finally retire as a ninja because of me going crazy right?"

The dark Naruto laughed. "Crazy? No but you retiring as a ninja? It might happen if we don't do something about this balance."

Naruto remained quiet, unsure of what to do. This was all new to him. Hell even before today, he was only worried about what to have for dinner.

"The fight for balance Naruto is between your good side, your dark side and the mixture. Each side has been struggling for dominance but it was always a stalemate. Now thanks to that snake, we each have a chance to win." The white Naruto continued on, explaining how dangerous this problem was. "Whoever wins, the other will perish forever. You are here to decide the future of your soul."

"And if we don't decide?" Naruto asked while knowing the answer to that question. He knew the answer deep down inside but he had to find out for himself.

Both Narutos looked at the original one with a sad look on their face. They spoke up at the same time. "Then all of us will cease to exist."

Naruto sighed. "What do you suggest we do?" If he had to fight to survive, then he'll do it. He can't disappear yet, not yet. He still had things to finish and people to see.

The dark Naruto clapped his hands together. "Well me and whitey over there came up with a plan. If all of us were to become one then we will be whole once again."

Naruto looked uneasy, his instincts kicking in. "What will happen to us when we merge?"

The purified Naruto spoke up this time. "We won't disappear if that's what your afraid of. We will be retaining the same memories but our ideals, our goals, our priorities will become one. The old Naruto will disappear but the new Naruto will be a combination of all of us. It is up to you if you want to do it. We pretty much agreed on this, all that's left is your answer."

Naruto felt his heart beating slowly inside his chest. He knew his answer, even if it meant doing the right thing. He smiled and held his hand out. "Lets do this." The other Narutos smiled, each sticking their own hands out.

As each of the Narutos had their hands on top of each other, the original Naruto had a thought. "What will become of our strength then?" Before anyone could answer, Naruto could see a light beginning to emit from the center of their hands. "Don't worry about it…" That was the last thing Naruto heard before the light swallowed everything.

* * *

"Say goodbye to your arms!" Sasuke laughed as he began to tear Zaku's arms out of their sockets. Zaku screamed as he felt his right arm yanked right out. "Oh there goes one…" Sasuke began to work on the opposite arm but just as he was able to stretch it a little bit, he felt another hand stopping him. 

"What… Naruto?" Sasuke's eyes widened, shocked to see Naruto standing in front of him, a firm grip on his wrist. He didn't even sense Naruto moving.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, happy that her last teammate was up and stopping Sasuke from tearing Zaku's arm out.

"No Sasuke. I can't let you do this." Naruto answered calmly. He breath slowly, feeling the renewed strength and the peace from within his body.

Sasuke stared at the blond, sharingan activated, seeing the calm faint red aura surrounding him. He started to smile. "It's time that we settle this Naruto." Sasuke threw Zaku away, glad that this moment had finally arrived, the moment where he proves that he is the superior one. "It's time that you finally learn which one of us is stronger." Sasuke threw a fast right hand at Naruto but found nothing but air.

Naruto found Sasuke's punch coming at him at slow motion and dodged easily. '_So this is what they meant...'_

Sasuke growl. He continued to attack Naruto but it irritated him when he found out that he couldn't match Naruto's speed. '_How…'_ He jumped over Naruto and quickly flipped through some hand seals. "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**" Just as he released his jutsu, he saw Naruto already slamming his hands on the ground. "**Doton: Doryūheki**" The mighty earth came rushing to the surface, forming a wall that successfully blocked the raging fire attack.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _'How is he that fast!'_ Sasuke looked again, he couldn't see anything from behind that wall. He looked around, trying to locate Naruto.

"Your unstable Sasuke. Let me get you some help."

Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto behind him. "Your wrong! This is the power that I need!" Sasuke ducked under from Naruto's jab and jumped away.

"Sorry Sasuke." Another voice called from behind the Uchiha. He looked around and saw another Naruto coming straight towards him with his fist aimed straight. He couldn't dodge in time and took the hit, sending him flying back.

"This is for your own good." Sasuke managed to turn his head, seeing Naruto already with the final blow. Naruto ran towards the fallen Uchiha, intending of knocking him out. When Sasuke was in range, Naruto leap forward and knocked the Uchiha unconscious. He caught the boy just as before they hit the ground, putting Sasuke gently on the floor.

He caught sight of the remaining sound member, Dosu. Dosu noticed Naruto staring at him and feared for his life. "Please. Let us leave and in return, we'll give you this scroll." Dosu took out the Earth scroll and placed it in front of him. Naruto eyed the scroll and nodded. Dosu quickly retrieved his teammates and ran, not caring where he went to but glad that he was still alive.

Naruto walked up to the scroll and put it with their other scroll. '_Now that we have two, we can go and seek medical attention at the tower.'_ He heard a slight groan from behind him and saw that it was coming from Lee. Sakura was supporting Lee as they were making their way over to Naruto.

"Naruto-san." Lee tried to bow his head but Naruto raised his hand, stopping him in mid sentence. "Don't, your injured. Save your strength."

Lee let out a small laugh. "The flames of youth is not easily doused."

Sakura sighed. "Naruto…" She looked at Naruto. There was something different about the boy, something that she couldn't put her finger on yet. "You seem… different."

Naruto smiled. "I feel different." That was no lie. He was feeling better than before. The emotions that he held back, the anger that resided in him was gone. For the first time in his life, he had no more regrets, no more anger towards anything.

"You can hand Lee over to us now." A firm voice called out.

Naruto turned around, knowing where the voice came from. "Come and get him Hyuuga Neji. He needs medical attention."

Neji and Tenten jumped down from their tree and examined Lee. "Damn it Lee, why did you rush off like that?" Tenten asked while she walked over to Lee's other side and took over.

Sakura, feeling relived as Lee was taken off her, slowly massaged her shoulders .

Lee looked at Neji with an apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry Neji…"

Neji sighed. "Let's get going." Tenten and Lee started to walk away first leaving Neji behind. "I look forward to fighting you in the finals." Neji took one last look at the boy before disappearing.

"Your welcome…" Naruto replied, whispering it into the wind. He turned his attention back to Sakura and the unconscious Sasuke. "We have to get a move on Sakura."

Naruto walked over to Sasuke and picked him. "Our new goal is to reach the tower by nightfall." Sakura nodded, wanting nothing more but to leave this forest.

* * *

Woh woh woh. Before people start asking me about all the change of events, that is going to be explained next chapter. I had planned for this split to happen, causing different versions of Naruto, both social and antisocial, which led up to this point. Now what happens next, you have to wait for the next chapter to find out, so hit that button and tell me what you guys think. 


	14. The Day After

I'm running short on beta-readers... woe is me...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 14: The Day After 

If a person could stay silent for a brief moment, they could make out distinct sounds coming from the area. There were sounds of faint footsteps, echoing throughout the forest. The group of genins quickly rushed from one area to the next, hoping to reach their destination soon. Silence engulfed the traveling pair, each unsure of their given situation. They have been running non-stop for a day now, barely stopping for unnecessary things.

There were still too many unanswered questions floating around. Birds flew out of the way as the ninjas leaped from one tree to the next, not wanting to waste anymore time when Sasuke could be in need of medical attention. Naruto found himself engrossed in his own world, exploring his new self one-step at a time. He could feel his abilities and strength doubling from the merger. There were so many questions that were unanswered; No one was there to guide him gradually. The only person he could turn to for help now is himself.

'_Kyuubi…'_ Naruto tried communicating with the beast but it seemed like it was just a dead end. It was like if Kyuubi didn't even reside in him. That was the odd thing, he could always feel the blasted fox's presence but now, he felt nothing. Naruto made a mental checklist to see what happened to his tenant.

As Naruto leaped from one tree to the next, he found his mouth forming a smile for some unknown reason. He doesn't know why he had a smile on his face but he had one. In the past, his smiles were nothing more but of a mask, to shelter himself from the pains of the world. Now his face just smiled because it just felt great to do it. He felt his package next to him beginning to stir. Naruto grinned to himself. Sleeping Beauty was about to wake up.

Sakura desperately tried to match her pace with the person in front of her. As she leaped from one branch to the next, she couldn't help but feel her mind wandering back to the enigma that was known as Naruto. She had come to know Naruto from day one as a sarcastic and well-guarded boy who had something to hide. Something happened from before that sparked a change in him. This new Naruto was more confident, more approachable in a social way. She liked this new Naruto but there were still too many questions that can't be left unanswered. This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. There was nothing to interrupt them. "Ne… Naruto…" Sakura spoke up as she ducked under some branches.

Naruto looked over his shoulders, smiling at her. "Yes Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widened, she was surprised he called her by her first name and not by her clan name. She then narrowed her eyes, not sure of what to make of this decision. She decided to keep her guard up just incase he was playing another trick on her. "What are yo- No. What happened to you?" She watched as the Naruto in front of her just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just saw the light." With that last cryptic statement, Naruto increased his pace once again. Sakura groaned in frustration, there was still some old Naruto left in there.

By the time Sakura and Naruto reached the tower, the sun was just setting. Naruto dropped Sasuke on the ground before shaking him furiously. Sasuke slowly stirred, which was a good sign. Sakura held her breath, anticipating the events yet to come. Half of her was worried about how her Sasuke-kun would turn out and the other half was worried about if her Sasuke-kun would return back to normal. The world of Sakura was just 100 percent Sasuke.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and blinked. He scooted back in a hurry, scared from the sight that stood before him. He caught his breath, blinking again. "Naruto…?" In front of him stood a smiling Naruto and Sakura, both looking at him, or rather staring intently at him.

Sasuke pinched himself, trying to wake up from this nightmare. He felt the pain coming from the spot where he just pinched himself. '_No this wasn't a dream.'_ Sasuke slowly recalled the events that just took place. His eyes focused themselves on Naruto, the boy who once again surpassed him. '_By the end of this exam Naruto, I swear on the Uchiha name that I will surpass you.'_ Sasuke mentally swore to himself. He was an Uchiha, an elite ninja coming from a noble clan. How could he be easily surpassed by a no name kid? The very thought made Sasuke's blood boil.

Sasuke took deep breaths as he got up, trying to calm himself down. "So." He narrowed his eyes at his teammates. "What are we waiting for?" Sasuke looked at his surroundings, recognizing the tower. "Do we have the scrolls?"

Naruto nodded, proceeded to remove two scrolls from his back pocket. "Here." Naruto threw one scroll at Sasuke, who surprisingly caught it. Sakura blinked, she couldn't even see Naruto throwing the scroll. Sasuke looked at his hand, feeling something there. When his mind finally registered the unknown item, he felt the curse seal acting up once again but ignored it. It pained him to know that he couldn't detect the object.

The group walked inside the tower, surprised to find no one there to greet them. Sakura looked around, wondering what's going on. "I thought people would be greeting us at least!" She took another look around before giving up. "All that trouble for these scrolls. Maybe we're too late?" Sakura started panicking, not wanting to fail after coming this far.

"Relax." Naruto put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, trying to calm the girl down. "Let's just open the scroll. Maybe they can tell us something in there." Naruto took a look at his scroll, the Heaven scroll. He saw Sasuke doing the same thing, each wondering what the contents of the scroll could be. They both nodded and opened the scroll.

Everyone's eyes widen as the scrolls started producing smoke. "Quick, throw it to the ground!" Naruto shouted, recognizing what these scrolls are. Naruto chucked his scroll away and Sasuke did the same.

As soon as the scrolls reached the floor, smoke came rushing upward and a man stepped up. "Greetings my young ninjas!" A loud voice echoed through the smoke. "Behold the divine ninja Jiraiya. Far East of Eden Wild Dance!"

A man danced through the smoke, feeling impressed with himself. '_Ohhhh yeah… They were too mesmerized by my dance to even clap. I knew I was good but damn I must be great.'_ Jiraiya looked up, surprised to see the team who summoned him looking the other way.

Jiraiya's jaw dropped when the center of attention was not on him. He lowered his head in defeat until he decided to teach them some respect. "Aha! I got you now!" Jiraiya screamed as he ran towards the unsuspected team. As he reached the team, he somewhat felt some familiarity with the blond hair one. Just as he was about to put his arm around the boy's neck, he found that he couldn't get a good grip on the headlock.

"Shouldn't sneak up on people like that Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya's eyes widened, "Naruto?"

The boy increased his grip on the man's wrist before throwing him over his shoulders. The team watched as the man who was proclaimed as the Legendary Toad Sannin flew into a wall. "Don't. Ever. Sneak. Up. On. Me. Like. That." Naruto said each word firmly as he walked over to the wall to check on his sensei. "What are you doing here? I thought you would have been peeping or something."

Jiraiya groaned, before falling over. The Sannin rubbed his eyes, looking over at Naruto. "What happened to you boy? I can feel a change from within you."

Naruto let out a small laughed. "Sit down Ero-sennin. I got a story to tell you."

Team 7 and their very surprised proctor went into another room, where Naruto went over the in minor details, not wanting all his secrets to be blown wide open. It only took several minor hints for Jiraiya to understand Naruto's rather unique situation. "Okay, now that we got the hard part out of the way, let me show you guys the guest rooms." Jiraiya lead the way, opening the door with a big smile. Sasuke and Sakura walked ahead, eager to get some rest.

Just when Naruto was about to follow, Jiraiya yanked him back, making the boy stay just a bit longer. "So how is the seal?" Jiraiya asked, cutting straight to the point.

Naruto shrugged. "I haven't been able to reach the furball yet." He started explaining to Jiraiya about his other experience.

Jiraiya slowly tuned out Naruto and was preoccuiped by his own thoughts. He wondered if it was Orochimaru's seal that caused Naruto to become like this. Naruto was finally whole; the pieces are finally coming together for the boy. He is no longer the confused, anger driven boy he knew over the past years.

As he ignored what Naruto was saying, a single thought came to his mind. '_Maybe, just maybe someday Orochimaru… I'll thank you for that you did for my student.'_ He couldn't help but grin at Naruto. He was becoming more like his father now. Even his eyes are beginning to show emotion.

"Hey Ero-sennin, how about a quick match? I haven't had the chance to go all out yet." Naruto jumped back, beginning to stretch his arms out. He unconsciously let his chakra slip out. While it was unknown to the boy, Jiraiya didn't let that slip by him. His senses went on full alert when he caught a glimpse of the boy's aura.

It was just so raw, so unrefined right now. If Naruto were to be compared to a diamond, he would be a roughed, fresh-cut diamond but if he were to be continuously polished, he would outshine even the brightest gems. Jiraiya shook his head and laughed to himself. '_That's the same way I described the fourth Naruto. It looks like the apple doesn't far from the tree.'_ He made up his decision. It was time for the next step of training.

"Tell you what Naruto, if you can get pass the preliminaries, I will personally teach you a new jutsu that will guarantee make you the star of the show!"

Naruto's eyes widened, he began jumping up and down, screaming. "Yes yes! You got yourself a bet Ero-sennin. I will pass this and soon, you'll be begging me to take you on as _my_ apprentice!" Naruto started jumping around, too enthusiastic to care about anything else.

Jiraiya smirked to himself. "You have grown a lot gaki." Jiraiya muttered under his breath. Before Jiraiya could begin to test his student, he remembered that he had a job to do. "Woops. We can't do this now, I got stuff to do." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto alone in the room.

"Aww." Naruto dropped his head, feeling a bit disappointed. He was looking forward to that fight and now, his excitement had nowhere to go.

_'Look on the bright side Naruto, the second part is about to end soon.'_ Naruto looked around, he didn't feel anyone else in the room and he wasn't even thinking to himself. "Hello? Whose there?" Naruto spoke out, trying to locate the source of the voice.

'_You don't have to look far Naruto. We're in here.'_ Naruto found himself being drawn once again into his mindscape. He felt like he was just put though a whirlpool with rocks on them, hitting each rock three times before he got out.

"Don't worry; the next time you come here, it will be a whole lot easier." Naruto froze upon hearing a very familiar voice.

"Shocking isn't it?" Standing before Naruto was two people he never thought he would see again.

"Wh-What? How?" Naruto stood there, with his mouth dropping a bit.

The Narutos smirked. "We only have limited time here so let's make this quick." The white Naruto stepped forward, taking initial charge. "The thing behind me Naruto." He waved his hand; the room began to change, losing the eerie background and returning to a familiar background. "Will soon begin to awaken from his slumber."

Naruto peaked behind his other self, seeing a vulnerable yet sleeping beast. "Once he awakens, which will be soon, you will no longer be influenced by his behavior. The original seal on your stomach was flawed. No disrespect to the Yondaime." The white Naruto bowed his head, showing respect while the Kyuubified Naruto snickered. "It was originally designed for you to slowly take the Kyuubi's chakra and merge it with your own, making it your own unique signature but that didn't stop the Kyuubi from trying to leak some of his own traits into yours."

Naruto stared at the devious beast. Imagine him trying to do something like that. Oh hell no. No one manipulates him and gets away with it! There was going to be some payback later on. "Why that furball! Wait until I get my hands on him!" Naruto stepped forward, starting to form a Rasengan on his right hand, bent on making Kyuubi's slumber intolerable.

"Woh, woh. Are you stupid?" The Kyuubified Naruto stepped in, preventing Naruto from advancing. "If you do it now, then you'll miss the best part of our speech."

Naruto looked at him with an amusing smile. "Okay fine. His speech." The Kyuubified Naruto folded his arms, pouting.

"Anyway, thanks to us, we have changed the way the seal works. You will still slowly merge your chakra together but for an added bonus, you'll be able to retain some of his abilities, such as advance regeneration and enhanced senses." The white Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking over everything that he just said. "Yup that's all we have to say."

Naruto whirled around, now facing the Kyuubified Naruto. "So now that the boring one is done, what about the demonic seal that I have placed on my body?" The Kyuubified Naruto smiled, showing a sinister smile. "Thank god you think he's boring too."

"Well excuse me for being the only sensible one here." The white Naruto huffed, obviously insulted.

"I am those demonic seals buddy. When we combined, my strength now belongs with you. You were at level two and now you gained that power. You don't need to put more of those demonic seals on you since we already fixed the Yondime's seal. How's that for an improvement."

"This is so cool!" Naruto raised his fist in the air, oblivious delighted with the news.

The room then began to shake and turn. Naruto looked around, shocked to see his two others disappearing slowly. "Hey don't give us that face. It doesn't suit us. You knew it was going to happen." The Kyuubified Naruto calmly said.

Naruto felt tears forming in his eyes. It was happening all over again, the feelings of losing someone very dear to him. In their short amount of time together, he felt they were like his brothers because of what they shared.

"It's going to be okay. We will always be with you in spirit." Naruto soon saw his two brothers disappeared for the last time, never seeing them again. In front of him laid the slumbering beast, Kyuubi. Naruto smiled slightly, understanding the sacrifice that they made so he could have a better life. "I won't let everyone down this time around. Last time, I didn't have enough power but now, I have the power to change my fate." Naruto whispered, feeling the breaths his body slowly took. He closed his eyes and exited the lair of the beast.

When Naruto awaken, he saw that he was in the exact same room before he collapsed. He rubbed his head, trying to get his bearings straight.

"We will now commence the start of the preliminaries. Please come down into the stage when your name is called." An authorize voice spoke. Naruto's eyes widened, the end of the second exam wasn't for another day. Just how long was he out? He quickly stepped through the doorway, trying to make it in time.

"Will Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto step forward?"

"Finally!" Kiba jumped onto the handrails, his hand pointed straight at Naruto. "This time, it's personal."

Naruto was struck between amazement and surprised. The size of the platform was huge and his opponent was none other than Kiba. Lady luck must be smiling on him. Naruto looked around, recognizing the crowd. There they were, the same rookies he graduated the academy with. Kabuto and his team were also there and so was Gaara.

Naruto locked eyes with Gaara for a split second before breaking contact. He casually walked over to the handrails, before turning around with his back was now leaning against it. He could spot the jounin instructors looking at him curiously. The next thing he did surprised them all. He leaned back and flipped over. Everyone stared at him in surprised, no one was able to understand why he did that.

Sarutobi and Jiraiya smiled, the boy that they knew was finally coming back. Naruto closed his eyes and was falling towards the ground at a rapid rate.

"That's right, death is what you would get either way if you faced me." Kiba's voice projected itself into Naruto's head. Naruto quickly reversed himself in mid air and landed gracefully on his feet. Naruto slowly got to his feet, feeling a bit proud of himself. "Looks like your teammates didn't even care if you died or not." Kiba looked towards the spectators stand, watching the interaction between Sasuke and Sakura.

_'Don't fall his taunt. Do not listen to him!'_ Naruto told himself over and over. He didn't want to look but he felt his eyes moving towards his teammates. Naruto's head dropped when he saw their reaction. '_They didn't care after all.'_ He felt his heart becoming numb; after all the things that he did, they still didn't acknowledge him. "I thought after all this, they would have at least considered me to be a friend." Naruto quietly muttered to himself.

Naruto was too engrossed with his own thoughts that he didn't hear the examiner signaling the start of the match. Kiba ran straight for Naruto, intending of taking advantage of this moment. Naruto stood there, unaware of anything. He felt a sharp pain coming from his face before he found himself flying back into the wall. "Start counting examiner. He won't be getting up." Akamaru barked as well.

The crowd was silenced by the quick knockout. No one would expect Kiba to knock Naruto out that easily. "I told you that the next time we meet, I will end your life." A cold voice spoke throughout the arena. The dust from the debris was blown away by an overwhelming force. Naruto got back up, anger clearly written across his eyes.

Kiba stepped back slowly, horror dawn on his face. He didn't recognize this person, it was like someone just replaced Naruto with a brand new person. Akamaru jumped in front of his master, every intention of protecting him. Naruto sprinted forward, appearing in front of the dog. Everyone had their eyes glued on the boy, surprised by the speed the boy showed. Kakashi had his Sharingan out, amazed by the speed that the boy showed.

"Out of my way mutt." Akamaru didn't have the time to register the sentence. The next thing he knew, Naruto was right in front of him. Naruto slammed his leg into the dog's ribs, sending it flying straight into the wall. A loud crack could be heard as the dog connected with the wall.

"Ah-Akamaru!" Kiba's eyes widened. He let out a battle cry and jumped on Naruto. He sent a fury of punches towards the boy but he couldn't land a single one.

Naruto dodged each one of them. "Pitiful." Naruto dodged the last punch and slammed his head forward, intending for a head butt. Both heads connected, sending Kiba flying back and Naruto staggering back. Naruto could feel his head throbbing from the pain but it was worth it to see Kiba bleeding from the head.

Kiba got up slowly, feeling his own blood leaking down his face. He looked at his companion, Akamaru, who was lying on the ground, barely breathing. "I'll _kill_ you!" Kiba rushed forward, hands holding both kunais. "**Gatsuga**!" Kiba started spinning, every intention of killing Naruto.

As the spectators looked on, some of them showed excitement from the match while the instructors were concerned on the outcome of the match. "Kakashi! If your student doesn't give up now, he'll end up dead." Kurenai voiced out. She never seen Kiba this angry before and it truly frightened her.

Kakashi shook his head. "I can't stop him even if I wanted to."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto's always been stronger than me."

Kurenai gasped, this was surprising to her. She always thought that Konoha's own Copy Ninja would have been one of the strongest in the village but to find out that a mere genin surpassed him was unbelievable. "How does that boy get so much power?"

Kakashi knew the answer. "Experience." He had no hesitation with that answer. He didn't take his eyes off the match, fully watching the Inuzuka's attack hit Naruto head on.

Naruto gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. To what everyone looked like a stand still, Naruto was concentrating his chakra to be at the point where the attack was hitting him.

Kiba summoned more chakra and began focusing it towards Naruto. "Your mine now!" Kiba pushed forward, successfully hitting Naruto. Naruto was slammed straight into the ground with Kiba standing on top of him, Kunais held at his throat. "You are a prick for doing that to Akamaru you bastard. Give up now before I slice your throat open."

"Go ahead, if you slice my throat open, you'll be a hero." The boy's comment shocked everyone. No one expected him to say something like that. "I was never well liked in this village anyway. Killing me would be doing them all a favor."

Kiba's eyes were furious. "How the hell can you say something like that? Don't you care about your own life?"

Naruto only laughed. "We are ninjas, tools that people use and discard once their done with us. It's just like friends. You only use them to your own benefit and nothing else." Everyone knew what the boy was talking about, it wasn't hard to see what he was referring to. "If you don't kill me now Kiba, I'm going to retaliate." Kiba gritted his teeth, he didn't want it to be this way. He could see the pain in Naruto's eyes.

"Looks like my student won Kakashi."

"Don't count on it." Kakashi commented while watching the chakra build up from the inside of Naruto.

"Last warning Kiba."

"No. You are in no position to demand anything you prick." Kiba stomped on Naruto, making his point clear.

"Fine. Have it your way. **Futon**" Naruto took a deep breath. "**Daitoppa**."

Kiba's eyes widened as winds emitted from Naruto, causing him to jump away. He watched as Naruto stood up, a small smile written across his face. He saw Naruto sprinting towards him and decided to meet him head on. "Stubborn fool! Don't you know when to quit?" Kiba jumped and started to spin, performing another Gatsuga. This time, the Gatsuga was stronger than the one before.

"Don't you get tired by repeating the same attack? I only saw it once and I already know how to counter it." Everyone became shocked. No one had ever countered a Gatsuga head on before.

"What does he mean by that Kakashi?" Kurenai demanded. This was no time for jokes. If Naruto doesn't move, he'll be killed.

"Shut up and watch." Kakashi sternly commented, focusing only on the match and nothing else.

"Your weakest point is the tip of your attack. If I can match the spin of your rotation there, you'll be as harmless as Sakura." Everyone's attention was focused on the boy, surprised by his bold statement. Kiba continued forward, every intention of winning the match.

As Kiba was close enough, Naruto slowed down his pace, giving himself some time to show everyone what he meant. "Rasengan!" A blue swirling ball appeared from Naruto's palm. He thrust his arm forward, Rasengan meeting Gatsuga. Sasuke had his eyes fixed on the technique, feeling the power just emitting from it.

An explosion occurred in contact, causing everyone to hang from the edge of their seats. As the dust cleared, everyone was anxious to see the results. "Come on Kiba!" Several people started to chant the boy's name. They stopped their chanting when they saw a figure shrouded in the dust standing up.

A muffled voice quietly whispered the words. "**Futon: Daitoppa**." Winds came rushing out, clearing the dust in an instant. There stood Naruto above Kiba's battered body. Kiba's clothes looked like they were shredded by a wild animal and his body was in even worse shape. "I told you that I would kill you the next time we meet but it turns out that your not worth killing."

Kurenai had her eyes wide open. "Wa…Was that the fourth's technique?" Kakashi nodded his head. She had heard stories about the power of the Rasengan. "How could you teach it to that boy?" She was furious. It was crazy teaching a genin a rank A jutsu.

"I didn't teach it to him Kurenai. He learned it himself." Kurenai retained her surprised look. She was too shock to do anything. A genin that knows the prize technique of the fourth just knocked out one of her students. He should be considered a dangerous liability to the village, who knows what he will do with the new technique.

Naruto signaled to the examiner that the match is over. Hayate nodded his head in agreement. "First match goes to Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto looked around; everyone had a shocked look on their face. He sighed; no one was going to applause for him. Why did he even hope that much. As he began walking away, he heard the sound of a person clapping. He turned around to see Choji clapping, followed by Shikamaru soon everyone followed suit. A huge grin appeared on Naruto's face. He was happy that there were people out there who acknowledge him for who he was. Naruto started wavering, his vision became fuzzy. He began falling to the ground but before he hit the ground, Kakashi caught him between his arms. "You did good Naruto."

Kakashi slowly lifted Naruto up into the stands, letting him rest against the walls. It was a while before Naruto regained conscious.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted his student. The lazy instructor was leaning against the rails, enjoying his favorite book.

"What did I miss?" Naruto rubbed his head; he was feeling sore throughout his body.

"Well you missed most of the matches but congratulations Naruto. You are in the finals." The boy immediately jumped up, forgetting his pain. "Yatta! Who am I facing? Lee? Sasuke-teme?"

Kakashi laughed and then his face became serious. "Naruto, you will be facing Hyuuga Neji."

Naruto pondered the name for a bit. "Oh last year's rookie. No problem."

Kakashi laughed and shook his head. '_Only you Naruto. Only you could just laugh this off.'_ Kakashi flipped the page in his book before continuing. "Oh by the way, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Gaara, Temari, and Neji got into the finals. It is in one month. Prepare for it Naruto." Kakashi absentmindedly said as he disappeared.

Naruto smiled. It was time to show the world what the new Naruto Uzumaki was capable of.

* * *

So what did you guys think? I found this chapter a bit interesting. 


	15. The Final Rounds

Well classes started and I'm busy busy busy. I could use some good proof-readers. If your interested and have time, please let me know so we can work something out. This chapter was proofread by myself so it may contain some errors.

Authors Note: I might change the pairings a bit but then again I might not. As of now, I'm thinking about Naruto's and no, it will not be Sakura and Hinata.

* * *

Chapter 15: The Final Rounds 

_Early Morning Konoha_

"Oi gaki." A voice shouted before some annoying tapping occurred. "Get up. Get up. Get up."

Naruto rolled over to one side of his bed, checking his clock. "6 AM?" Naruto groaned. He unwillingly pulled himself up from the warm comfortable bed over to his windows. He opened his shades and fell back, shocked at what he saw.

"What the hell are you doing Ero-sennin?" Naruto patted his heart, trying to calm himself down. "Who the hell would be up this early?" He opened the windows, letting the sannin in. "What do you want?" Naruto yawned.

"Sorry kid but this is going to hurt me more than it'll hurt you." Before Naruto could question that statement, he suddenly felt his stomach in pain. He started to lose focus and blacked out, falling gently into Jiraiya's arms.

_3 Hours Later_

Naruto began to stir, feeling something poking him on his back. He opened his eyes, surprised to see trees all around him.

"About time you got up."

Naruto sat up, his expression unreadable. "Why?"

Jiraiya rubbed his head. "I always wanted to do that?" A fist met with Jiraiya's face, sending him into a tree.

"Wrong answer." Naruto answered coolly.

"Owch." Jiraiya answered while rubbing his nose. "How about the fact that I came here to cover our deal?"

Naruto stared at the man suspiciously. "In the past, you never offered me direct training. What changed?"

Jiraiya sighed. There was no way around this now. Naruto was never the type to take things subtlety. "In the match with Neji vs. Hinata… Neji won the match quite easily, no in fact he _dominated _it." Jiraiya put emphasis on that word. "He landed a near fatal blow on Hinata Naruto. A near fatal blow to his own cousin. If he can do that to her Naruto then who knows what this kid is capable of."

Naruto remained silent throughout the whole ordeal. He remembered Hinata. A shy yet gentle person who wouldn't even hurt a fly. "Why?" He quietly whispered. "Why must such a gentle person be force into these kinds of situations?" His aura grew more and more with each passing sentence, alerting Jiraiya that Naruto's power was growing and growing.

"Save your anger for the tournament Naruto."

"Right…" Naruto answered, looking up with determination in his eyes. "Let's get to it." He stood up, starting to stretch.

"Listen here Naruto. I'm going to teach you how to summon."

Naruto stared at him with disbelief. "Do you think I'm finally ready?"

Jiraiya laughed. "Compared to 2 years ago when you were practically begging me? Yeah I think you are ready." Jiraiya went through a series of hand seals before slamming his hands down. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" The man cried out.

As the smoke disappeared, a toad as big as Jiraiya appeared, holding onto a scroll. "You called Jiraiya-sama?"

Naruto had his jaw dropped slightly, surprised by the talking toad. "Let my apprentice sign the contract."

The toad comply obediently, dropping the scroll on the floor. Naruto slowly opened the scroll, surprised to see that there were only a few names that signed the scroll. "A-ra-shi Ka-za-ma? Who was he Ero-sennin?"

The toad cocked his eyebrow at the nickname. Jiraiya saw it and chuckled weirdly. "I told you to stop calling me that gaki. Ah. Arashi Kazama. You know him as the fourth Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened. This was unbelievable. _'I am going to have the same contract as the fourth'_. Naruto quickly snapped out of his shock. "How do I sign?" He eagerly asked.

"With your blood." The toad croaked out.

Naruto bit his thumb, feeling the blood drip down. He carefully wrote his name on the scroll, feeling a bit honor to sign the same scroll as the fourth. The toad rolled the scroll back up and disappeared.

"Show me the seals Ero-sennin." He was trying to recall the seals that Jiraiya performed earlier but they were way to fast.

Jiraiya smiled. He was acting just like the fourth when he first received the summoning contract. "Okay, watch me carefully." Jiraiya performed the sequence once more but at a slower rate. "Now try it."

Naruto felt like a child who just received his presents on his birthday. He still felt the blood fresh on this thumb and began flipping through the hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" Naruto cried.

As the smoke cleared, a small frog appeared. "Yo. Give me some candy and I'll play with you." The small orange toad answered.

"This is the best you can do?" Jiraiya cried out before hitting Naruto over the head.

"You didn't say how much chakra to use." Naruto whined. He turned his attention to the small toad. "So what's your name?"

"Gamakichi." The small toad replied. "Now where's my candy."

Naruto smiled before searching through his pockets. "I know I had a piece somewhere." He continued to rummage through his pockets, emptying them out until he found a piece of mint. "Here you go." He handed the candy to the small toad.

Gamakichi took it without hesitation and popped it in his mouth. "Mmhmm. This is good. Okay you may call on me anytime to play." He hopped on Naruto's head. "Good spot."

"Ahem." Jiraiya coughed. "Now this time, try it with all your chakra!" Jiraiya demanded. "We want to see the boss!"

Naruto shook his head a little bit as a sign for the small toad to get off while he redid this exercise. "Here goes nothing." Naruto closed his eyes, concentrating on summoning the boss. '_The boss, the boss.'_ He began building up chakra, storing until he deemed it reasonable.

Jiraiya's eyes widened when he felt the amount building up. "Whoa whoa that's enough!" Jiraiya screamed out, a hint of fear in his voice.

Naruto snapped open his eyes and bit his thumb, releasing the blood once more. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" He cried out. He felt his feet being elevated into the sky.

"Jiraiya! You dare summon me?" The large toad bellowed out.

"I summoned you boss."

Gamabunta looked up, seeing a boy standing on his head. "Get lost brat. Where is Jiraiya?"

Naruto, feeling a bit winded from summoning the boss, sat on the toad's head. '_Note to self, next time use the fox's chakra.'_ He glared at the boss. "I really did summon you and." He looked around, looking for Jiraiya. "I don't know where Ero-sennin is but if we find him, he'll tell you that I really did summon you!"

"Ero-sennin?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded his head. "You know, the perverted one." Naruto tried his best to mimic his sensei to the boss.

Gamabunta roared with laughter. "I like your sense of humor kid. Tell you what. If you can stand on my head without falling, I will consider you to call on me in the future."

"Like a test?" Naruto asked.

Gamabunta rolled his eyes. "No like a ticket. Of course a test."

Naruto scowled, feeling the sarcasm coming from the toad. "Bring it."

Gamabunta smirked. This is going to be fun.

Jiraiya watched from far away as he saw his young apprentice trying to stay on Gamabunta. It was a good excuse to watch these young girls playing in the waterfall. Jiraiya drooled as he continued peeping into his telescope and taking notes. "Oh yeah. Just like that." He muttered and continued to take notes. What he failed to noticed was that Gamabunta was preparing for the final leap. It has been over 20 minutes and the boy wasn't budging.

"I'll give you credit kid, no one besides the fourth ever stood on me for this long." Gamabunta tensed up and soared up into the sky. Naruto felt the atmospheric pressure hitting him, gravity taking effect. As they began to fall down, he found himself slipping. He immediately applied more chakra to his arms and feet, making sure he was sticking. As they landed, it caused a huge tremor that caused the girls to quickly scatter.

Jiraiya let out a small cry, feeling defeated. "Damn you gaki!!" The man cried out. Gamabunta heard the cry and leaped once more, towards the location of the voice. Jiraiya continued to weep, failed to notice the dark shadow around him. When he looked up, he saw a huge web feet coming towards on him. He started to run away but failed. He was now caught in under the toad's feet. "Jiraiya! I finally found you." The boss croaked. Sounds of muffling could be heard under his foot.

Naruto spun around, feeling dizzy. He misplaced his step and fell off, landing safely on top of Jiraiya. "What's your name boy?"

"His name is Naruto pops." Another voice spoke up. Gamakichi jumped and landed on Naruto's head. "I like this one pops. He gave me candy."

Gamabunta was surprised to see his son on top of the boy's head. "Gamakichi what are you doing here?"

"He summoned me." Gamakichi tapped Naruto on the head.

"You pass brat. You may call on me when you need assistance but as for you Jiraiya." Gamabunta applied a little more pressure, causing Jiraiya to scream in pain. "Next time we meet, I'll bash your head in. Let's go home Gamakichi." Both toads disappeared, leaving the student and teacher to reflect on this exercise.

_5 minutes later_

"Ungrateful toads." Jiraiya mumbled while massaging his back.

"So what do I do now?" Naruto sat on top of a rock, looking bored.

"What stage are you on with the Rasengan?"

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever stage this is." He held out one hand, performing a perfect Rasengan.

"Practice until you can do it with both hands."

"You can't even do it yourself." Naruto retorted.

"Are you training to be like me or training to surpass me?"

Naruto smirked. "To surpass you."

"Then get to it." Jiraiya kicked Naruto off the rock, sending Naruto to the ground face first. Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke, no doubt looking for the next hot springs.

_7:00pm Evening_

'_Holy shit. It took forever to leave that forest.'_ Naruto slowly walked back into town with a stick supporting himself. He was lucky he wasn't exhausted from all that training. The amount needed to summon Gamabunta was ridiculous. It took nearly 2/3 of his chakra reserves and that was a lot considering it was him, the stamina freak. Naruto passed by a nearby restaurant, seeing a familiar woman inside. He smirked. He could finally get his answers.

"Ahhhh. The lovely dangos." Anko Mitarashi purred out. She was one strange kunoichi. She could sit til the end of time eating dangos. It was all she ever ate.

"Got room for one more?" A quiet voice spoke up.

Anko growled. Only a fool would interrupt her and her precious dangos. She turned around and was surprised to find the blond kid from the exam. "Oh its you." She looked at the boy, a complete mess and completely uninteresting. "Go away."

Naruto only smiled. The smell was too tempting and he was hungry. "Mind if I join you Anko-san?"

"No." The kunoichi hastily replied. She didn't like strange company when she was in the presence of the dangos.

"Waiter. Could I get some service here?" Naruto politely asked. Several waiters looked at him and continued with their work, ignoring his request. Naruto only smiled but deep inside, it really stung. These absent-minded people were too stubborn to change their ways. "Oh well." Naruto lowered his head. His stomach grumbled. "There's always ramen…" He quietly whispered.

Anko sighed. "Here." She held up a stick. This was probably the one and only time that Anko Mitarashi shared her dangos with anybody.

Naruto whole-heartily accepted. "Thank you." He quickly finished it in one bite, munching on it rather quickly.

"No! No! NO!" Anko grabbed the boy and shook him. "Eating dango is a art! You eat it one at a time. Like this!" She demonstrated for the boy, showing him the proper way of eating a fine cuisine as this. She handed the boy another stick and nodded her head, signaling for him to try again.

Naruto laughed. "Are you sure Anko-san? I'm intruding on your meal."

"Eat it brat!" She quickly replied. It was her job to teach people how to eat dangos correctly. It drove her crazy whenever she saw an amateur eating it.

Naruto ate it one at a time, mimicking his teacher. "So where's Orochimaru Anko-san." Naruto asked slightly.

Anko batted her eye at the question. "Why do you want to know?" She wrapped her arms around Naruto and whispered into his ears. "Are you curious about me? About my past?" Naruto felt the hot breath tickling his ear, her arms slowly reaching across his chest.

Naruto wrapped his free around Anko's waist and pulled her closer to him. He turned his head to meet her face to face. "I'm always curious about things." He leaned into her face, carefully studying her features. "I'm curious about people who stand out. Unique if you must say." The proximity between the two was less than 4 inches. Lips just barely touching. Naruto leaned in, his forehead resting against hers and staring into her eyes. He saw lust and suprise swimming in her eyes. "Where is he Anko-san?" Naruto whispered out, staring deep into her eyes.

"I-I don't know. Forget him. What about us?" Anko managed to reply. Her hands working their way up his chest. She was surprised to find how tone his chest was. Even for a genin, his body didn't feel like that of a 12 year old. It felt like a young adult.

"There's always later for us. What are you to him Anko-san?"

"I was…" She stared into his blue eyes, getting lost in them. She felt herself staring into the sea, being so mesmerized by it. "His apprentice… I left him a long time ago." Her hands moved to his face, bring their faces closer and closer.

"Thank you for the meal Anko-san." Naruto moved away, snapping Anko out of her state. Naruto dropped some cash to pay for the meal and left. Anko watched as the genin left the restaurant, thinking back to what just happened. It was like that she was completely under his spell, unable to resist. She licked her lips. This boy had a certain flair and she wasn't satisfied with it. She needed more.

Naruto walked out of the restaurant, feeling happy with his answers. He went in with a couple of questions and walked out with a good meal and answers. '_She has no relations with Orochimaru. That's good. Now I don't have to kill her.'_

_Next Day_

"I wonder where Kakashi-sensei is." Naruto thought as he wandered around. So far he has checked all his sensei's favorite places, the bookstore, his house, the hot springs and the Hokage Tower. In the end, he finally gave up and walked over to the training grounds for another day of harsh training. He almost got it down, training with a thousand clones really help.

As he walked by training grounds 5, he saw Team 10 somewhat training. Deciding that he should ask their sensei if he had seen his, he walked on over. "Excuse me. Asuma-san?"

Team 10 stopped whatever they were doing and looked at their unexpected visitor.

Asuma took a puff of his cigarette. "What can I do for you Uzumaki-san?"

"Have you seen Kakashi-sensei?"

The older jounin nodded his head. "He took the Uchiha to train for the next part of the exam."

Naruto lowered his head and sighed. "I see."

"Hey Shika. Why would Asuma-sensei call him Uzumaki-san?" Ino asked, really curious about the boy. She slapped Shikamaru on the arm, trying to get his attention.

"Your so troublesome Ino. If you taken some time away from stalking Sasuke, you would know that Naruto is held in high regards by the Hokage." He turned his attention back to the shogi board, thinking about the next move.

"Can you tell me about the match between Hinata and Neji?"

Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Are you thinking about getting revenge?" Naruto didn't answer, he stood there silently.

Asuma stood up, feeling the blood rushing back to his legs. "Walk with me."

"You can call me Naruto."

Asuma nodded. "The rest of you are to go against Shikamaru in a two versus one match. I want to see him bleeding all over by the time I get back."

Shikamaru widened his eyes. "So troublesome." He saw Ino quickly charging towards him. He kicked away from the board and rolled back in time to dodge the heel drop.

As Team 10 continued to train, Asuma and Naruto walked way from the training grounds. "Revenge isn't everything Naruto." It took a while for Asuma to pick the right words. He saw the hatred swimming around the boy's eyes. Hatred and revenge went hand in hand and if he allowed the boy to be consumed by it, he would eventually destroy himself. "There is a history between Neji and Hinata."

Naruto looked at the older man, wondering what he was talking about. What was so important about history that would lead to him killing her?

"Hinata is considered the heir to the Hyuuga clan while Neji was doomed to the life of serving her. Two different branches of power inside one main house. I'm sure you can see where this is going right Naruto?"

The boy nodded his head. "Why was he condemned to this?"

"That's how fate plays her cards." The two continued to walk in silence, staring into the trees.

"Thank you." Naruto quickly leaped away, leaving the jounin to walk back by himself.

_3 weeks later, 1 week left._

Naruto sat against a tree, sweat dripping down his head. He smiled to himself. He actually finished it. It took 3 weeks to get it down but he finally did it. One week to retrain himself with the basics and the other two to improve on the timing. He held out his palms, tiny blue balls started to form on each palm until he closed it, releasing the energy. It was almost time. His friend always came during this time. He didn't even know they became friends but they did.

"Naruto! Where are you hiding? Stop playing around!" A loud voice yelled out.

Naruto smiled. This was always the fun part. He got up and walked into her sight, allowing her to know that he was there. "Hey there Ino."

Ino looked back at the boy. "There you are. Did you know how long I was looking for you?"

Naruto chuckled a little. "Sorry. I was training. Guess I lost track of time." Ino began to rant on about her day. It was always like this; first she would come tell him about her day and then they would get down to training.

_Flashback_

_It was just a week ago since he retrained himself using water balloons and rubber balls. The use of clones also helped a lot but it didn't help his wallet. He was just lying on the ground, staring at the clouds; watching them as they passed by and then there she was, walking up to him. "Why are you acting like Shikamaru Naruto?" She asked. Her voice seemed to have an effect on him, he quit looking at the clouds and turned his head a little to see her. _

_"Because clouds are relaxing." That was his answer. He didn't know how it happened but the next thing he knew was that she was staring at clouds right next to him. "I don't see how you could waste time doing this." _

_"Because clouds are relaxing." _

_Ino growled. "Are you mocking me?" _

_Naruto laughed. "No but that's my answer." The two sat in silence, just staring into the clouds. _

_Naruto was the first one to break the silence. "So how is Hinata?" _

_"She's fine Naruto. Neji was stopped before he could finish his attack." _

_"Mmhmm." _

_"Are you still going to get revenge?" _

_Naruto found himself thinking about the word. Revenge. "It's hard to get go of the past." _

_"It doesn't concern you. What happens between them stays between them. You don't have to carry the burdens of everyone around you." The response came so suddenly. He did not expect her to understand. _

_"Justice is blind Ino. If I have the power to change it, I would." He sat up, feeling already refreshed. He walked away, leaving Ino by herself._

'_She wouldn't understand. I don't expect her to.' Naruto thought to himself. This village, the village where he supposedly grew up was nothing more but temporarily home. _

_"I thought we were training." A voice suddenly said. Naruto slowly turned around but that was his mistake. Ino was already in front of him and elbowed him in the gut. Naruto staggered back, with a smile on his face. "Let's go then."_

_The two continued to spar until nightfall was on them, both exhausted but both has a feeling of satisfaction. This was the start of a blooming friendship for the both of them. Not once did Naruto ever ask why she came. He was only glad that he did._

_Flashback End_

_Day of the final round of the Chunnin Exam_

"Are you ready Naruto?"

"I was born ready." The blonde replied. He looked himself over. His neechan sent him some new clothes. He had to admit, they weren't bad but they weren't orange. He touched over the clan symbol on his shirt, smooth yet easy on the eyes. The clan symbol itself was unique, a Ying-Yang symbol, white and black to symbolize good and evil. It was his clan, the clan he belonged to.

"Everyone will be watching Naruto. They have high expectations of you. Don't disappoint them."

"I won't Ero-sennin." The boy took a deep breath, feeling a bit nervous. Jiraiya watched the boy who he considered a grandson. _'You have come a long way Naruto.' _Naruto continued to stretch, occasionally practicing with the Tenro. "It's been a long time Gensai-sensei. I will do you proud." He held on tightly to the sword, feeling it's strong exterior.

"Narutoooo! Are you ready yet?" A loud voice screamed into his apartment. Both Naruto and Jiraiya winced from the screech.

"Too early for this gaki. Too early." Jiraiya massaged his temples.

"Okay Ino. I'm coming!" Naruto yelled back.

Jiraiya bopped him over the head. "What do you not understand!"

Naruto snickered as he walked out of the apartment and towards the stadium.

_At the stadium_

Sakura looked around, amazed by how many people turned out to see the match. "Whoa, that's a lot of people."

"That's not surprising. Villagers and ninjas alike turn up today to see who will be their future comrades, their future protectors."

Sakura looked amazed even more. "Wow Shino…" She stared at the bug user. This was the first time she heard him say this much. Shino stayed silent while Hinata let out a little giggle.

"Greetings. My name is Genma Shiranui and I will be your examiner for this part of the exam. Will Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto step forward?" The crowd became quiet, each waiting for the contestants.

Neji appeared in the middle of the field, next to the examiner. He closed his eyes, feeling the excitement within him growing. '_Fate has already deemed me the winner Uzumaki._'

Everyone was now waiting for the second contestant, some growing more nervous as they waited for Naruto.

A minute has passed and still no sign of the second contestant. One minute became two and two became four. The crowd began to whisper among themselves. The villagers were thinking among themselves. Did the demon run away? They only prayed that he did.

Sakura looked around, not seeing Naruto anywhere. There were other people missing as well. Sasuke and Ino wasn't here. A glimpse of blond caught her eyes as she watched something walking up the stairs. "Ino-Pig! Have you seen Naruto?"

Ino walked up, surprised to see everyone staring at her. "No. I haven't seen him." She lied. She saw an empty seat next to Sakura and sat down.

"Is Naruto Uzumaki here?" The examiner called out once more.

_Hokage Stand_

"Where is your second contestant Hokage-sama?" The Kazekage inquired.

"He will be here." That was his only reply. "Jiraiya. Where is the boy."

Jiraiya shrugged. "He should have been here by now." He was sure the boy left before him. Maybe he got into an accident. He started scanning the crowds, seeing if he recognize anyone there. "Excuse me Hokage-sama. I have some matters to attend to." With that, Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_Audience _

Jiraiya appeared next to the rookies, scaring them a little with his entrance. "None of you seen Naruto?" He asked his friends. They all shook his head. This wasn't a good sign. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Where is Naruto?" A scary angry voice asked from behind him. Jiraiya froze. He recognized this voice. It was someone who he wished to never see again. The rookies turned around, looking confused. "Ah-ah-Araki! What are you doing there?" The toad sannin started sweating. This wasn't good. Whenever he came in contact with his woman, his life was always holding on by a thread.

"My otouto invited me here." Jiraiya began to fear for his life. His eyes were showing fear. "I swear, if anything happens to him…" The woman threatened.

"No, no. Don't misunderstand Araki. I was just with Naruto this morning." Jiraiya waved his hands around, trying to buy himself some more time. He wished he had updated his will.

"Excuse me but how do you know Naruto?" Sakura asked, interrupting them. She assumed that Naruto was an orphan since he never talked about his family.

Araki looked at the girl. "My name is Araki Tenjin, I'm Naruto's older sister." Everyone gasped, surprised to see someone like her be Naruto's older sister. She didn't even look that old.

"Are you sure? You look nothing like him." Kiba commented. "And you don't have a similiar scent like Naruto."

Araki laughed. "I'm not related to him by blood but I consider him my younger brother."

Jiraiya gulped. For the time being, he was walking on thin ice as long as Naruto showed up but if he gets disqualified, not even hell could save him from this woman's fury.

"Excuse me Jiraiya-san. We were wondering if you remembered us." A sweet voice spoke up. Jiraiya instantly forgot his fears and turned around, giving the mysterious voice his best smile. What he saw made him frown and then turned into panic. "Sh-sh-Shizuka!" Oh bloody hell. Two of the most feared women that he never wanted to see again and they were standing next to him. "How are you doing?" He managed to ask.

"Ah Shizuka-san. How have you been? It's been awhile." Araki asked, saving Jiraiya from his impending doom for the time being.

The sannin's eyes opened wide, surprised to say the least. '_They actually know each other?'_ Oh this wasn't good. The only thing worst than these two women was them being friends. He could feel his life slipping away as they continued to converse as old friends. He mentally weeped to himself, praying to the gods that Naruto was actually here.

"You know Naruto as well?" Kiba asked as politely as he could.

Shizuka smiled at him. "Yes I do dear. We met Naruto a while back when he was just an innocent boy." She glared at Jiraiya. "And he still better be." Jiraiya quickly nodded. "He done a lot of things for us on his travels and we are entirely grateful."

"Mother, I don't see Naruto anywhere."

A girl suddenly walked up. "This is my daughter Hikaru."

Hikaru waved and greeted them. "Hello Ero-sennin." She recognized the perverted hermit.

"Gah! Not you too." He pointed his fingers at her. Both women glared at his rude attitude.

Jiraiya quickly retracted his finger, trying to not make his time on this place any shorter than it already is.

"Don't worry, Naruto will definitely be here." Everyone looked at Ino, who was still sitting down.

"How do you know that?" Sakura asked. She looked over her friend, trying to see if there was anything unusual about her.

"I just do forehead!" Ino just sat down and quietly waited. Everyone took the hint and sat down, waiting for the man of the hour.

_Down in the field_

"Examiner. Just declare me the winner. He won't show up." Neji calmly stated.

Genma snorted. Already high and mighty. If he wasn't an examiner here, he would have taken Naruto Uzumaki's place. "One minute warning for Naruto Uzumaki. If he doesn't show up, he is to be disqualified." He turned his attention towards the crowd, watching their expressions.

_Audience_

"If he doesn't show up Jiraiya. I swear to god your legacy dies right here!" Araki threatened.

Jiraiya shivered and continued to pray. "For the love of god gaki. Please show up." He was already on his knees, praying to the gods that they have mercy on his soul.

_Back down in the field_

Genma slowly counted to 60, and then that was it. "I hereby declare…" Just as Genma was about to declare Neji the winner. A huge sword shot down from the sky, just barely missing Neji and Genma.

Everyone was silent, shocked by the huge sword. "Sorry. Am I late?" A voice shouted from the hilt of the sword. "I got lost on the path of life."

Everyone tried to make out the figure from the dust. "Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted, happy to see that he arrived safely. The future started looking bright for him once more.

Naruto turned his attention to the people calling his names. "Sorry I'm late. I had some things to take care of first." He gave them an apologetic bow before waving.

"You and me later brat!" Araki shouted. Naruto shivered from the thought. '_And I just got out of the hospital.'_ He jumped down from the huge sword and watched it disappeared. "Sorry. I had a meeting with my boss."

Genma looked at him suspiciously before shrugging. "The match between Naruto and Neji will now begin!" He quickly jumped out of the way, letting the two young boys fight.

_Audience_

Jiraiya recognized that sword. It wasn't hard to miss. He seen it many times in the past. '_So that's where he went. I see Naruto. You were with him.'_

"What was that huge sword Ero-sennin?"

"The sword of the boss Hikaru." He quietly answered. He smiled. This was going to be a great match.

_Field_

"It would have been smarter to stay away Uzumaki." Neji coldly stated.

Naruto stretched his neck muscles and then his arms, ignoring the other boy.

"You think this is a joke?" Neji shouted. He reached for a kunai and flung it at Naruto.

Naruto lifted up his finger just in time to stop the kunai. The kunai reached the tip of his finger but it did not produce any blood. "Are you always this hotheaded? Slow down and enjoy the clouds. Life will pass you by if you are always on the go." He slowly balanced the kunai on his finger, entertaining the crowd.

"What do you know about my life!" Neji yelled as he quickly rushed in, aiming to end the match quickly. The only thing he hated more than pretenders was pretenders who think they were all that.

Naruto watched as Neji got closer and closer. "I know you had a rough life." He said while smiling. Neji's eyes were filled were surprised when his hand landed on Naruto's chest. Naruto started coughing out blood. "Revenge isn't the way to go. I learned it the hard way."

"Why? Why didn't you dodge it?" Neji stared at the boy in horror.

"Because then, you would be running away from that." Naruto quickly yanked the hitai-ate off Neji's head, showing the branch seal.

Neji quickly grabbed the boy by his shirt and tossed him away, walking over to the hitai-ate before putting it back on. "I am not running away. I am embracing my destiny. It is my destiny to change this and fate has already declared me the winner when you were matched up with me."

Naruto coughed once again before laughing. "My seal is worse than yours Neji." He slowly got up, a smile written across his face.

'_Byakugan'_ The Hyuuga genius quickly activated his bloodline, the bloodline that cursed him for life. "How the hell are you standing up!" What Neji saw was unbelievable. His opponent had taken a direct hit to the chest and was still standing up.

"Fate isn't determined by birth. Destiny is not written in stone. We are each our own person." Naruto answered. Neji stared at the ground, seeing a shadow just coming near him. He quickly looked up, seeing another Naruto coming towards him. He rolled backwards, avoiding the attack while the Naruto that he thought was real disappeared, leaving the crowd shock.

"Come Neji. Let me show you how I defied destiny!" Naruto stated as he waited for Neji to rise to his feet.

* * *

Authors Note: Like woh. This chapter will be the prelude to the exciting fight in the next chapter. I can honestly say that I'm halfway through the next chapter. Let me know what you think about the story so far, changes that I could make or what not. 


	16. The Fated Battle

Well after all those lovely reviews, I have decided to keep the pairings the same and will use my ideas in the next story.

As for somewho who asked me if I, myself, believe in destiny or fate. My answer is that all things happen for a reason. You can choose to let it happen or you can not. That's the way I believe it to be.

Anyway. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Last time on Naruto: 

"Fate isn't determined by birth. Destiny is not written in stone. We are each our own person." Naruto answered. Neji stared at the ground, seeing a shadow just coming near him. He quickly looked up, seeing another Naruto coming towards him. He rolled backwards; avoiding the attack while the Naruto that he thought was real disappeared, leaving the crowd shock.

"Come Neji. Let me show you how I defied destiny!" Naruto stated as he waited for Neji to rise to his feet.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Fated Battle 

"Defy destiny? Don't be a fool. No one can defy their destiny." Neji spat out as he slowly got on his feet. "Your destiny was predetermined before you were even born. Don't preach as if you were some kind of expert on it." Neji charged in, intending of showing this rookie what it meant to have destiny behind them.

"Sheer Hyuuga ignorance." Naruto answered as he dodged a quick palm strike from Neji. "Always so mighty."

"Destiny has already dealt me the winning hand." Neji continued to increase his pace, try to land a hit on Naruto. His window of opportunity had arrived when he spotted an opening on Naruto's left arm. He managed to grab a hold on Naruto's wrist, pulling it towards him and quickly landed several successful hits on his shoulder.

Naruto instinctively jumped away, feeling a sharp pain coming from his shoulder. His left arm fell to his side, stinging from the pain and unable to concentrate chakra into it.

Neji smirked as he watched his opponent struggle with the problem. "From the way you're looking at your arm, your probably wondering what happened to it. It's simple really. I just closed your tenketsu points. It is only a matter of time before I close them all Uzumaki."

"I know all about your clan taijutsu style and your history Neji. I don't need both of my arms to defeat you." He proved his point by raising his right arm and letting his left arm hang loosely by his side.

"Examiner. I intend to kill him." Neji stated to Genma. Fools like this doesn't deserve to live. They would better of dying now than to die later on.

Genma only shrugged. "I will stop you before you do so."

"You have no chance of beating me with one hand alone." The Hyuuga stated. It was oblivious. A warrior with two hands will always have an advantage over someone with just one hand. The logic behind it was simple. Flawless.

"What about now?" Naruto reached behind his back and pulled out a scroll. Neji raised his eyebrows slightly, intrigued by the scroll. Naruto smiled as he watched Neji's curiosity show. "Just watch." Naruto bit his thumb, letting the blood come out and flung the scroll open, wiping his blood on it. The scroll disappeared and a very elegant sword appeared. Naruto held the sword tightly with his remaining hand, smiling. "I would like to introduce you to Tenro." He held out the sword so Neji could get a good glimpse of it. It was the last gift he ever received from his master, the gift that would continue his master's legacy.

"That sword won't beat me."

"Are you sure?" Neji's eyes widened as he saw Naruto disappear in front of him. His senses went on high alert, screaming for danger. Even with the Byakugan activated, he couldn't see where Naruto was. '_Impossible… He's moving just as fast as Lee with his weights!' _He caught a glimpse of metal, intuitively rolling to one side, just barely dodging the sword strike.

"So the rumors are true. The Byakugan truly does have full vision." Naruto stood there, holding the sword on his shoulders. "No matter. I'll crush you." He stabbed the sword into the ground and held up both arms, intending of performing a jutsu.

Neji scoffed at his pathetic attempt. "You can't summon chakra with that arm. I already sealed off your tenketsu points."

"Being a genius doesn't mean that you're always right. When you become a genius, you become closed-minded, thinking that you're always right. Well I got news for you!" Naruto shouted as he began concentrating on summoning chakra.

Neji laughed at his pathetic attempt until he saw a strange chakra signature emerging from Naruto's body. It wasn't the normal blue color like everyone else. His was more reddish. The chakra emerged from Naruto's stomach and into his arms, opening the sealed tenketsu points.

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu**" Naruto cried out. It was painful to forcefully reopen his tenketsu points but it was worth it. He could feel his left arm coming alive again. "What do you think of destiny now Neji? Do you still believe that destiny is behind you?"

Neji frowned, unable to answer. The logic didn't make sense. There was no way to reopen a sealed tenketsu point during battle.

"Beat him down to the ground boys!" Naruto shouted out, commanding his clones. They all rushed in, each one of them wielding their own Tenro.

Neji watched as clones came closer and closer. '_I will show everyone why I was given the title of genius in the Hyuuga Clan.'_ He could feel himself burning with excitement, all that training that he pushed himself to do, all that sweat and blood that he lost, it was all for this moment. To show everyone that he was not just a branch member. He was his own person.

Naruto formed a little smile as he felt his sword connect with something but to his surprise; he couldn't push the sword any further. No. That wasn't it, his clones was stopped as well; Neji somehow stopped the attack from all of his clones. The next thing Naruto knew was that he was forcefully thrown back. He could feel his clones disappearing one by one as they hit the ground. Naruto slowly got up, taken by surprised by that attack. Neji stood there, looking completely unharmed.

Naruto growled and sprinted forward once again, determined to find out what just happened. "**Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku**" Naruto whispered as he began to execute the move. Just as Naruto got close enough to attack, he saw Neji moving a bit differently, as if he was fazing in and out but that was impossible. Then he saw it, the reason why Neji was able to repel his attack from before.

"**Hakkeshou Kaiten**" Neji confidently said as he spun around, forcefully knocking Naruto back. "The Kaiten is my ultimate defense. It repels any attack coming towards me from a full 360 degrees angle. There is no way you can defeat me."

"Then you oblivious don't know me." Naruto said as he got back up. He could feel his body aching in pain but thankfully for the fox, his wounds were already healing. "I'm a stubborn fool who just won't quit!" Naruto burst forward, adding the chakra into his feet for the added boost. He already saw the attack twice. It was a chakra spinning force field that will protect the user from harm but if he can get to Neji before he starts spinning, he could beat Neji to the ground.

Naruto dropped his sword stance slightly, the Tenro now almost touching the ground. Naruto dug the sword into the ground while running, causing debris to be lifted up from the ground. He swung his sword, sending rocks and dirt clods towards Neji. "**Shiranui-ryu: Tsuchi Batsu**" His eyes weren't focused on the attack; he was watching the movement on Neji's feet. He had to get there before Neji could begin his counter-attack.

"I already told you, it's useless!" Neji replied. Sometimes the best way of getting stubborn fools to learn from their mistakes is to beat them to the ground, humiliating them. His eye suddenly twitched, which alerted him that something was odd. He quickly scanned the area, noticing that he couldn't find Naruto anywhere. The Tsuchi Batsu was still coming towards him but where was Naruto? Neji gritted his teeth. It didn't matter where he was, there was a more imminent threat. "Kai-" Neji began to call out his technique once more.

"I don't think so." Naruto appeared next to Neji, interrupting his technique. He put his arm around Neji's throat and his leg in front of Neji's right heel, preventing him from spinning his body. "I already seen that technique twice. Why don't you show me something new? There is no way you can spin if I'm holding on you to you." Naruto claimed.

"Naïve fool. I can exert chakra from all over my body." Judging by Naruto's surprised expression, Neji concluded that this was one fact Naruto forgot to study. Neji began spinning, dragging Naruto along for the ride. "**Kaiten**!" Neji shouted out.

_Audience_

"Father isn't that your Kaiten?" A small voice asked.

Hiashi stood up, his eyes widened from surprise. "Yes, yes it is." The stoic man replied. _'To think that a branch member has surpassed a main branch.'_ He continued to watch the match, clearly interested in it. "Watch your cousin carefully Hanabi, he is the person who we claim to be the genius of the Hyuuga Clan." Hanabi nodded. She turned her attention to watch her cousin Neji.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Araki screamed. She was already at the poles, threatening to rush off and get into the field to beat some sense into him.

"NO ARAKI!" Jiraiya yelled, forcefully holding the woman back. "He can handle it himself!"

_Field_

Naruto's head was already spinning by the time he was thrown back. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. He groaned as he painfully stood up, feeling the pain from that last attack. He could feel his hands slipping from the sword, barely able to support himself.

Neji stood there, glaring at Naruto. It was true that he had underestimated this boy but to stand up from a close range Kaiten was nearly impossible. Not even Lee was able to stand up. "You have my respect Uzumaki. You've taken three Kaitens and a normal person would have been dead by now but the match still goes to me."

Naruto opened his eyes and grinned. "The match isn't over." He took short deep breaths, trying to regain his composure. "Allow me to show you my newest technique." He picked up his sword and held it in front of him. "This is in memory of my late sensei, Gensai Kawakami and I dedicate this technique to him." He held up two fingers to the blade, slowly following it towards the end of the sword. Neji saw faint traces of chakra being embedded into the sword.

"Putting chakra into that sword won't cut through this defense."

"Just watch." Naruto felt a tingly feeling coming from the sword, just like before when he practiced this new technique. He raised his sword, pointing it towards Neji. "**Shiranui-ryu - Kawaki Style - Raikou Sutoraiki**" The sword began to glow a bright color, giving off the image that the god of lightning itself has manifested from within the sword. "This isn't a normal technique Neji." Naruto took a swipe towards Neji, showing him what this technique was about.

Neji stood there, unsure of what the strange technique can do. A second later, something hit him hard, making him drop to his knees. "Arghh." The Hyuuga cried out. Something just hit him but he couldn't see it. His body was getting shocked by something but he couldn't figure out what.

_Audience_

"Wh-What was that!" Araki shouted. She never saw anything like that before. "Better answer me you pervert." She grabbed Jiraiya by his clothes, pulling him close to her.

"If I had to take a guess, Naruto combined a lightning jutsu with the sword. Incredible." Jiraiya rubbed his chin, impressed by the level that Naruto was demonstrating.

_Field_

Neji was breathing heavily, feeling the effect from the attack. '_I couldn't even see it.' _He stared at Naruto who was just standing there, taunting him to get up.

"They say lightning travels as fast as light. There is no way to know when lightning will strike." Naruto swung the sword again, intending of ending the match.

Neji saw nothing, there was just nothing to see. Even with his Byakugan activiated, he couldn't see anything. He ended up just rolling from side to side but he dropped to his knees when he felt something shock to his leg.

"I ask you again. Forfeit or I will fry you."

Neji stood his ground, hatred for the boy in front of him growing. Naruto shrugged his shoulders, not really caring at this point. "Fried Hyuuga coming up." He swung the sword at his opponent, knowing this was the final strike.

"**Kaiten**" Neji cried out. Naruto watched as Neji began rotating, surprised to see his attack be deflected. Neji finished his attack and smirked. "I can see it now. I can see the small chakra particles that you have in your sword."

Naruto frowned; swinging his sword again, this time vertically. Neji narrowed his eyes, just barely making out the faint traces of chakra. He could see it now. It was visible to him. The attack is based on the movement of the user. There could only be two directional movements. It was either horizontal or vertical. Neji closed in on the distance, dodging each strike that Naruto threw at him.

"You're within the range of my divination. Game over!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he watched helplessly as Neji stood in front of him. "**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou**." Neji slipped his arms into his stance, preparing himself to show this rookie why he was called a genius.

"Two palm! Four palm! Eight palm! Sixteen palm! Thirty-two palm! Sixty-four palm!" Neji continued to close one tenketsu point after another, hitting all 64 points on Naruto's body within moments. When Neji was finish, he threw a hard palm strike to Naruto's face, causing blood to spray out from the blond's mouth. Naruto fell on his back, breathing heavily and unable to move. His sword was landed right next to him but he didn't have the energy to reach for it.

"This is a nice sword." Neji exclaimed as he picked it up. He carefully examined it. "Beautiful craftsmanship." He did a few practice swings with it, smirking each time.

Naruto let out a small growl as he watched his favorite sword end up in the hands of another. "It's a shame though." Neji said as he held it up, concentrating some chakra to his right hand. "That it will not live to see tomorrow." He lowered the sword, at an angle where he can break it in half. He proceeded to chop the sword but he failed to notice a smirk forming on his opponent's face. That was his downfall, taking time out to break your opponent's will instead of finishing the match. Neji sported a shocked look when the sword he was holding disappeared into smoke along with his opponent.

"I told you. I already know all of your moves." Neji quickly turned around, surprised to see several Naruto's coming towards him. "**Kaiten**" Neji begun to spun around, protecting him from the assault of clones.

"How many times do I have to see it?" Neji turned his head slightly, to see another Naruto coming towards him, his hand wielding a blueish object.

_Audience_

"Is this it Naruto?"

"What do you mean Ero-sennin? That Neji guy looks like he's just hiding behind a shell." Hikaru spoke up, impressed by the match.

"What he means is that Naruto is using his trump card." This time Araki spoke up. She was proud of how far Naruto has progressed.

Jiraiya produced a soft laugh. "That's where your wrong Araki. That's not his trump card."

"Then stop playing games and tell us what that move is Jiraiya-sama." This time Ino spoke up. She was feeling a bit irritated with all these riddles and games.

"That is the legacy that the fourth left behind." Jiraiya cryptically said. It was just like watching an old memory replay itself.

Sakura produced a gasped. All that time studying and memorization finally came in handy. "Is that the-"

"Yes. That's the Rasengan." Araki spoke up, interrupting Jiraiya. "I still get shivers when he used it against me."

"Technically. It was your fault." Jiraiya pointed out, recalling that particular memory.

"What did you say?" Araki retorted in a threatening tone. Jiraiya felt himself shrinking down, trying to stray away from this woman's wrath. "Nothing. I swear."

_Field_

"Rasengan!" Naruto cried out, thrusting his palm into the already spinning sphere.

"It's useless." Neji coolly replied. This was the ultimate defense of the Hyuuga Clan. There was no way that small ball would break it. Any minute now, he would be blown away. Any minute now. Neji began to worry when Naruto was still standing there, pushing against the Kaiten. He could feel himself tiring out.

"How is that possible?" Neji spat out, forcing himself to the limit. "A mere ball going against my Kaiten? Ridiculous."

"I have several rotations of swirling chakra compressed in here. You have one. I have many. You do the math." Naruto cheekily replied. "The match goes to me!"

"Never!" Neji forced more chakra out from his body. He was risking chakra exhaustion, risking everything on this last move.

"Double Rasengan!"

Neji's eyes perked up when he heard Naruto shout something out. He watched in horror as another Rasengan appeared in the boy's hand. _'Was everything that he said true?'_ He could feel himself slipping as Naruto slammed the second Rasengan into his defense.

_Audience_

"Double Rasengan? Are you crazy?" Araki grabbed on to Jiraiya, shaking everything out of him. "He was crazy enough to do it with one hand but with two? What the hell are you thinking? Giving a kid that much power!"

Jiraiya flung his arms around, trying to break away. "It was his ideas. I swear!" No one paid attention to those two as their attention was focused on the match.

_Field_

A loud explosion occurred from the field, smoke rose up, blinding the audience. Genma stood there, carefully watching the smoke. As the smoke died down, a figure could be standing still, waiting for something. Everyone alike was wondering the same thing, who won the match?

Genma had a little smile on his face as he recognized the contestant. "Winner of the first match. Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Tell me Uzumaki. What are you?" Neji said while coughing. His body wasn't responding to his mind but in his heart, he felt content with how the match went.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, heir to the Denkou Clan. I will change the Hyuuga way for you Neji Hyuuga. I'm the guy who will change the way of everyone because I'm the person who will become the next Hokage."

Neji produced a little smile, chuckling from the speech. "You're a strange one Uzumaki. Very well. I shall wait for that day." That was the last thing the Hyuuga said before closing his eyes, exhausted from the match.

The sound of clapping appeared one by one, soon turning into a full-blown cheering. Naruto looked up, seeing villagers and ninjas alike, cheering for him. He could feel his body turning warm, probably from being embarrassed like this. He quickly disappeared from the field, leaving everyone wonder where the boy went.

_Audience_

"Where did that brat go?" Araki scanned the field, trying to locate him.

"I'm right here Araki-neechan." Everyone turned around, stunned to see Naruto standing there.

"Come here brat!" Araki quickly pulled Naruto into a hug. Naruto smiled and hugged her back.

"Great job gaki." Jiraiya spoke up, proud of his apprentice. Araki let out a glare behind Naruto's back. "I mean Naruto." Jiraiya quickly caught on. Everyone took turns congratulating him.

"Congratulations Naruto-kun." A warm feminine voice spoke up. Naruto turned around, following the soft voice.

"Hikaru?" He couldn't believe it. He couldn't trust his mouth now and his eyes were blinking a million times per second, making sure it was real. He started to walk towards them, everyone standing to one side, letting the boy through. He awkwardly walked up to them, not knowing what to say.

"I was impressed with your match Naruto-kun." Hikaru shyly said.

In his mind, Naruto was thinking of over a hundred things to say but none of it was coming out.

Hikaru giggled at the sight before her. "Aren't you going to say something else?"

Naruto snapped out of his daydream and flashed her a smile. "Ah screw it." He walked up to her and hugged her. She was surprised by his initiative but nevertheless, she returned the hug.

"Ahem." a cough erupted, interrupting their moment.

"Kaa-san." Hikaru slowly said.

Naruto immediately removed his hands, an attempt to not make him look like a leech. "Shizuka-san!" Naruto quickly said while bowing in respect. Hikaru giggled, pulling him back up.

"You look well Naruto-kun." The older woman answered.

"I had some great teachers so far."

"It's great to see you again." Shizuka pulled him into a hug, surprising Naruto.

"What brings you here?" He was curious to know. He didn't even send them an invitation.

"We're here to discuss something with your Hokage." Naruto gave her a curious look, waiting for her to continue. Shizuka only laughed. "Sorry Naruto but it's only for the Hokage's ears only."

"Aw." Naruto pouted. Just as Naruto was about to say something else, Genma's voice spoke through the stadium, indicating that it was time for the next match.

"Will Nara Shikamaru and Sabaku no Temari report down to the field?"

Shikamaru groaned as he heard his name called. "So troublesome. I think I'm going to forfeit." He leaned against the ledge, just looking up at the clouds. He watched as his opponent already reached the bottom of the field, waiting for him.

"Go already Shikamaru." Naruto said as he walked next to the boy genius.

"I don't feel like exerting myself, especially after your match."

"Don't worry. You'll do fine." Naruto replied as he quickly shoved Shikamaru over the edge.

"Damnnn you Narutoo." Shikamaru yelled as he fell down. He felt a bit dazed as he got back on his feet, glaring at Naruto who looked away, trying to look innocent.

"About time you got down here Shikamaru." Genma stated. He stared at the lazy genius, wondering if he had what it took to win his match.

Shikamaru sighed. "So troublesome."

Genma chuckled. The similarities between father and son are very uncanny.

"Let's put on a show shall we?" Shikamaru looked towards Temari, waiting for her response.

"Let's." She answered. The two stood apart from each other, waiting for the signal.

"The second round of the final exam will now begin!" Genma shouted, signaling the start of the match.

"Can I just forfeit instead?" Shikamaru asked, raising his hand.

"No you coward. Fight for your village!" Temari shouted, lifting the fan off her back. She jumped up, lifting that huge fan into the air, aiming to smash her opponent's pineapple shape head in.

Shikamaru quickly jumped away, eyes amazed by the size of the whole that fan made. "Damnnnn it Naruto. I'll kill you for this." He quietly muttered.

Temari looked up, smirking to see her opponent still in the air. "**Futon: Tatsu no Oshigoto**" She opened her fan and swung, air currents rushing towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru braces himself for the attack, surprised that the wind was giving him cuts and scraps all over his arms. He landed behind a tree, keeping his distance. '_She is probably channeling her chakra into that fan of hers. She's just like TenTen, a long distance fighter which means one thing. She hates close combat battles.'_ Shikamaru stood there, analyzing his opponent.

"Guess there's no other way." He held up his hands, molding some chakra. "**Kagemane no Jutsu**" Black lines resembling black ink shot forth from the shadows, making their way towards Temari.

She quickly flipped backwards, avoiding the jutsu. She quickly marked the distance that the shadow can reach by using her fan as a ruler. "I already calculated the distance. You can't go any further than that." She proclaimed proudly. She was a tactical genius just second after her father. Shikamaru quickly reached into his holster to take out 10 kunais and threw them at Temari one at a time.

"Child's game. This won't save you." She knocked each kunai away one at a time, as if she was just swatting flies. "Are all Konoha-nins afraid of fighting?" She said mockingly.

Shikamaru did nothing, just sitting there. Temari growl. This was a waste of her time. She opened her fan slowly, revealing a single star. "Fine. Be a coward!" She swung her fan again, producing heavy storm winds.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is so troublesome." He held on to the tree for dear life. She was a smart girl, avoiding the shadows. "Tch. Let's try this again." He stared straight at her and smirked. "**Kagemane no Jutsu**".

This time a single black line curved its way towards Temari. She stood still, already knowing the distance that the shadows can reach. To her surprise, the shadows split, forming two separate lines. She quickly jumped away, avoiding the attack. Her second surprise of the day was that the shadow had actually crossed the distance that she had marked. Just how far it can actually reach. She kept jumping around avoiding the encounters.

As she landed away, she noticed at all the kunais were still scattered around, deducting that he was probably going to use them as markers. As she was about to reach for her fan, she found her body unable to respond to her will. Shikamaru sighed. "Kagemane no Jutsu success." He got up, looking bored at her.

"Wh-What? How?" Temari managed to stutter out.

_Audience_

"Yeah Shika! I knew you could do it." Ino screamed out loud, proud of her lazy teammate.

"He's going to quit." Choji spoke up while munching on his chips.

"What do you mean? He's winning." "Shikamaru's not what you think he is. He prefers the easy way out. That's the way that Shikamaru is." Choji continued to eat his chips, secretly feeling proud of his friend.

"Do you think he's going to win Naruto?" Hikaru asked. They were standing side by side, happy to see each other. They were already catching up, feeling content.

"If he doesn't. He'll never hear the end of it from Ino." Naruto replied, chuckling. He still recalled the many headaches he received when he didn't comply with her answer.

_Field_

"Here. I'll show you." Shikamaru turned his head, allowing Temari to see how he did it. "I didn't throw those kunais at you for no apparent reason. They were just part of a plan." Temari was shocked, surprised that she fell into her opponent's trap. "It was a simple process. Divert your attention while I lured you into the final checkmate position. You tried to measure my shadow but what you fail to notice was that you can never accurately measure it. Time is always on my side. While you were dodging my shadows, you fail to notice your surroundings which led you into my trap." He took a deep breath; it was always a pain to explain his process, which is why he preferred to just watch clouds.

"Lucky for you, it took a lot of chakra just to lure you into checkmate position." He raised his hand and looked at the examiner. "I forfeit the match."

Temari slightly dropped her jaw. She won like that? Her pride wouldn't let her do it.

Genma sighed. Like father like son. "Winner of the second round goes to Sabaku no Temari." The audience was in an uproar, cheering for both contestants.

_Audience_

Ino sighed. "Why? Why did he forfeit? He had it." She couldn't understand the boy. Victory was within his grasp and he let it slip.

"Shikamaru's not the type of person who needs achievements to feel happy. He's content with just staring at clouds all day." Choji answered as he ripped open a second bag of chips. "That's just the type of person he is."

Ino let out a sigh again. "But still! He could have won!" Naruto chuckled at her antics.

"Ino-chan. No matter what you do. Shikamaru will always be Shikamaru."

Shikamaru walked back up slowly, already anticipating a headache from Ino. As walked to the top of the stairs, he was greeted by a sand-nin. "Gaara right?" He recognized this kid. He was the one who brutally beat Lee in the preliminaries.

"Mother wants your blood." Gaara coldly answered. Sand started pouring out from his gourd, making its way towards Shikamaru. '_Ah crap. I don't have enough chakra to fight him now.'_ Shikamaru did the only thing that was left to do. Run away. Run far far away.

"Let her taste your blood!" Gaara screamed as he lifted his hand, the sand sped up to block the exit.

"Gaara." A voice called out. "It's very disgraceful to just kill your opponent without fighting them."

The sand stopped inches away from Shikamaru's face, leaving him shocked. He could have swore that he almost wet his pants but he'll never admit to anyone.

Gaara turned his head, recognizing the boy. "Uzumaki… Mother wants your blood TOO!" The sand quickly turned around and went after the boy. Naruto stood there, letting the sand compress around his body.

"Naruto! You idiot. Why didn't you just run?" Shikamaru shouted. This was just too troublesome.

"Because if I ran, you would have died." The boy quickly answered, shutting the genius up. For once, Shikamaru couldn't think of an answer.

"Die."

"Not before you!" Naruto cried as he broke loose from the sand. A Rasengan spinning in his hand. Gaara quickly jumped away, avoiding the dangerous jutsu.

"Until next time." The red head boy said as he walked away, preparing for his own match. Naruto stood there, dispelling the Rasengan.

"How did you find me?"

"Wasn't hard. I felt his presence."

"Oh." A moment of silence engulfed the two. "How?"

Naruto chuckled and walked away. "Figure it out genius."

_Field_

"The final match of the semi-finals will now begin." Genma spoke loudly. "Will Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke proceed to the field?" The crowd held their breaths, anticipating this match. This was the highlight of the event. The last Uchiha vs. the monster from Suna. They watched as Gaara appeared in front of Genma via sand. It was unusual but yet the boy pulled it off.

"Sakura, do you think Sasuke will show up?" Ino inquired. They haven't seen hide or hair of the boy since the start of the event.

"I know he will. He has too." Sakura answered, praying that he will make it in him.

Genma coughed. This was embarrassing for him, just standing there. Why must they always be tardy? Damn Kakashi and his ways. He sighed. This was just a pain in the ass to do. "If Uchiha Sasuke doesn't show up in 1 minute. His match will be forfeited and Sabaku no Gaara will be awarded the winner." Now the waiting game begins.

As seconds started counting down, rumors were beginning to spread, people who had their hopes on the last Uchiha was feeling miserable, wanting to see the boy in action.

Genma took out his senbon needle. "Times up. I hereby declare Sabaku-"

Just as Genma was about to declare a winner, a gust of wind blew into the center of the field, disrupting Genma from continue. In the middle of the wind, there were two people that no one expected to see.

"Did we make it in time?"

Genma coughed from the dust. "One of these days Kakashi. Being late will kill you."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, chuckling slightly. "Good luck Sasuke." The elder ninja disappeared in the puff of smoke, leaving his student to face off against his opponent.

Genma rolled his eyes, clearing his throat for a second. "The match between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara will now begin!" Genma quickly jumped out of the way, leaving the boys to fight.

"I've been waiting for you Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara spoke first, releasing the sand from his gourd.

Sasuke opened his eyes, smirking at his opponent. "All you have been waiting for is your defeat." He went into the Uchiha stance. "I'm going to crush you into the ground."

Gaara laughed, a homicidal laughter filled the arena. "**Sabaku Kyu**" He raised his hands, intending of finishing this match quickly.

* * *

Authors Note: This is where the events start going crazy right? muhah. Just wait and see.

Techniques

**Shiranui-ryu: Satsujin Ken - Suzaku - Naruto's sword style - Phoenix Strike  
Shiranui-ryu: Tsuchi Batsu - Naruto's sword style - Earth Strike  
Shiranui-ryu - Kawaki Style - Raikou Sutoraiki - His latest technique. By combining a lightning element with his sword, he is able to send shockwaves at his opponents.**  
**Kage Bushin no Jutsu - Shadow Clones  
Hakkeshou Kaiten - Kaiten... A dome.  
Hakke Rokujuuyonshou - Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.  
Kagemane no Jutsu - Shadow imitation technique.  
Futon: Tatsu no Oshigoto - Temari's technique. - Severing Pressure. Used with a fan to trap your opponent in a cyclone, cutting them in the process while trapped.  
Sabaku Kyu - Gaara's desert coffin.**


	17. The Shocking Discovery

Erm. Chapter 17 is here! Not much really. I spent my time searching for this one story which I can't remember the title but only vaguely remember the details and then the search fuction died on me so I ended up doing it manually.

Disclaimer: Some ideas are mine, some are not. Don't sue me.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Shocking Discovery 

"Sabaku Kyu"

The words barely registered in Sasuke's mind as his attention was focused elsewhere. It could have been the killing intent leaking out from his opponent or the huge pile of sand that was coming towards him. It didn't matter anyhow. There was no way he was going to be beaten like this. He could feel his leg muscles tensing up, a sign from his body telling him to start moving. His lips slowly formed a smirk, knowing that it was finally time to show him. No. To remind the world what an elite Uchiha looks like.

_Audience_

"Why isn't he moving?!" Sakura shouted. She jumped out of her seat and hung against the rails, her heart pounding furiously from the inside. She couldn't bear with him dying on her again. Not before she had a chance to pronounce her love for him. "Sasuke-kun!" She shouted his name out as she watched the sand crush him.

"Maa Sakura, You might want to keep it down a bit. My eardrums are still recovering."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura happily cried out, she felt her hopes rising as her sensei appeared next to her. "Is-Is he going to be okay?"

Kakashi looked on the field, watching the sand continue to surround his pupil. "Believe in your teammates Sakura." For the past month, he had learned a little bit more about his avenger, the drive that propels him towards his goals. It was no longer an order from the Hokage to train Sasuke; it was a personal job now. He would not let Sasuke fall down the path of evil. It would be an insult to Obito's memory if another of his descendent strayed off the path of good.

Naruto stood there, silently watching the match. He could feel the change from within Sasuke. Before, the boy represented a raging storm, anger and pain locked from inside his soul but now, he could feel the soul finding peace. "Sasuke will be fine. Just wait and see."

Hikaru looked at the boy next to her. From her position, she had a clear view of his facial features but the thing that captivated her the most was his blue eyes; they were clearly focused on Sasuke, as if Naruto could look straight into his soul. This was no longer the boy who she met all those years ago. He had matured both physically and mentally. She let out a quiet sigh as she leaned her body against the boy, her head resting comfortably against Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto smiled at the gesture and offered his arm, which Hikaru gladly took. The two stood there, enjoying each other's company while watching Sasuke's match.

_Field_

Gaara watched as his sand completely surrounded his enemy. He could kill him right now and finish the match but mother doesn't want bad blood. She wants blood from strong opponents. He raised his hand and closed his fist, the sand mimicking the hand motions.

Gaara stood there, waiting for the blood to spray out. He frowned when he saw nothing there. The sand was being compressed and there was no sign of life in there. It was impossible. No one could have escaped.

"I refuse to die here. Nothing will stand in my way until I kill him."

Gaara quickly turned around, surprised to see Sasuke standing on the opposite side of the field. He let out a small growl. "Die you insolent bug."

Sasuke was surprised that he actually escaped from that. If he had waited a second later, he would have been dead. He ran forward, intending of showing everyone how a true fight should really be. He watched as the sand charged straight for him and he parry right, avoiding it while making his way towards Gaara.

Gaara gritted his teeth, he was actually feeling annoyed with the match. Because his sand was too slow to catch up with his opponent, he was forced to play defense. There was nothing he could do. He continued to watch as Sasuke got within striking distance. He held his breath as the boy got within his defenses.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the boy from Suna, who many deemed as a monster show frustration on his face. "Your battle with Lee confirmed my suspicions. You may have this absolute defense of yours but you're too slow to fight fast opponents." Sasuke proved his point by disappearing in front of Gaara, leaving the boy shocked at the speed.

Gaara folded his arms and closed his eyes, as if he already knew the information.

"Did you give up already?" Sasuke appeared from behind Gaara and threw a kick aim straight for the head but his kick never connected with the head. It connected with the sand instead. The Uchiha frowned and disappeared again. This time, he was going to take things up a notch.

_Audience_

"So you managed to get him upto Lee's speed." Gai stood there, his hands folded against his chest.

Kakashi shrugged. "He would have achieved it by himself anyway." He was waiting for it. Any second now.

"The flames of youth doesn't reside strongly in you Kakashi! It is a dirty trick to copy your opponent's move rather than to develop your own! I'm ashamed to be standing next to you!" Gai buried his head into his right arm, feeling disappointed with his rival.

There it was. The infamous speech that he heard every time they came back from a mission together. Gai was always against his Sharingan, claiming it to be an unfair advantage. "Sasuke actually trained himself to learn Lee's moves." Kakashi replied as focused his attention on the match.

"Yosh! Sasuke-san has deemed himself worthy of learning Lee's techniques. The flames of youth strongly burns inside him!" Gai's spirit renwe itself as he continued to ramble about the flames of youth while Kakashi mentally patted himself on the back. Praising himself for the quick idea.

_Field_

Sasuke continued to run around Gaara, occasionally going in and throwing kicks and punches but they weren't doing any damage. Each time he would do something, it would end up being blocked by that sand of his.

"Are you done yet?" Gaara asked, his eyes still closed.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm just getting warmed up." He ran around Gaara in circles, increasing his speed with each passing lap. He quickly threw a punch, knowing that it would be stopped by the sand. When the sand stopped the first punch, he increased his speed once more and followed it up with a hard right punch to Gaara's cheek, sending the boy face first into the ground. He had found an opening with the absolute defense. The sand would stop the first attack automatically but would need about 0.3 seconds to recover itself. This 0.3 seconds was all he needed to land an attack.

Gaara eyes snapped opened when he felt something smack him on the jaw, sending him to the ground. His eyes followed the trail back to his opponent, who was holding his fist and smirking at him. Gaara rubbed his cheek, surprised to feel pain. "You hit me. You HIT ME!" Gaara shouted. He started shaking uncontrollably. "Mother doesn't care anymore. She will settle for your blood!" He slammed his palms together, concentrating chakra. The sand slowly gathered around Gaara, forming a protective barrier.

Sasuke stood there shocked. This was new. He never seen the boy or anyone do this before. '_Fine. If he won't come out, I'll break him out.'_ Sasuke began to perform some hand seals; Horse, Dragon, Rat, Horse, Rabbit, Dragon. "**Katon: Karyuu Endan**" Sasuke held his fingers to his chest and released a scorching fire dragon that went straight for Gaara.

The mighty dragon collided with the sand barrier, trying to destroy the object in its path. Pretty soon, the dragon gave up and just surrounded the outside with its flames, burning the sand and raising the temperature.

Sasuke, who stood there watching saw the opportunity that he was waiting for. As soon as the dragon disappeared, he applied some chakra to his feet and ran straight for Gaara. He arched his left arm back and tensed his muscles, preparing himself to smash that shield of his wide open. He threw a punch that connected with the sand, a loud boom could be heard from the impact.

The crowd held their breath, wondering why he just did that. Everyone's eyes widened as the sand began to crack, pieces began to fall off. In a matter of moments, the entire barrier collapsed, revealing a shocked Gaara. "How did you…"

Sasuke spun around and kicked his leg towards Gaara, ignoring the question. He continued to throw fast punches towards Gaara's stomach and ending his assault with a hard uppercut that sent Gaara flying backwards. Not even the sand could have matched the speed that he just displayed. Sasuke stood there, taking deep breaths. It still took a lot out of him whenever he performed at this speed. "Fire will melt anything if the temperature is hot enough. Raise the temperature of sand and it will shatter like glass." Sasuke explained.

Gaara got up slowly, wiping the blood off his face. "Your blood will be delicious Uchiha Sasuke." Gaara started laughing as he dropped the gourd to the ground. "Sabaku Kyu" The sand exploded from the gourd, surprising everyone. Gaara moved his hands around, moving the sand towards his opponent.

Sasuke saw the sand coming from his left and jumped away but found three more coming from behind him. '_Shit. They're faster than before.'_ He quickly dropped to the ground and rolled to one side, avoiding the hammer shape sand that almost crushed his skull. He got back up to his feet and ran around, avoiding the sand.

As he ran around, he noticed that Gaara was moving his hands more than usual. '_It has to be his hands that's controlling the sand.'_ That was the only assumption he could come up with. He dodged a near fatal hit from behind and made his way to the wall, putting enough distance between them.

Gaara stood there, smiling as he watched his prey run away. '_Soon.'_ Gaara thought. '_Mother will feast on your blood.'_

Sasuke frowned as he watched Gaara form that sick smile. It was disgusting the way he looked right now. It was time to end this before things got out of hand. Sasuke began to perform a series of hand seals before holding his left hand out, his right gripping tightly on to his left. He could feel the chakra burning through his systems as they made their way to his left hand.

Soon, his hand began to glow white, the sounds of birds chirping emitted from the stadium.

_Audience_

"Isn't that your move Kakashi?" Gai asked, surprised to see it on Sasuke. "You taught THAT to a genin? Are you insane?"

"This coming from the guy who taught his to open all the gates?" Kakashi countered. "I figured he would need it for this match so I taught it to him."

"What move is that Gai-san?" Sakura politely asked. She had never seen this move up front before. She remembered hearing a familiar sound back during their mission in Wave Country but she never found out.

"The Chidori, the only original move from the famous Copy Ninja. There were rumors that went around saying that Kakashi actually cut a lightning in half with this technique." Gai replied in a textbook like fashion voice.

"Pay attention here. This is the results of the training that Sasuke went through." Kakashi spoke up. He was proud of this kid, coming a long way since they first joined up as Team 7.

_Field_

Sasuke ran down from the walls, running faster than he ever ran before. '_In order for this move to work, you have to increase your speed by a factor of 30.'_ Kakashi's voice echoed through his mind. Sasuke held on to his arm tightly as he continued to reach his maximum speed.

Gaara continued to move his hands, trying to throw him off with the sand. The sand was attacking left and right but it still couldn't catch him. Knowing that he couldn't do anything right now, Gaara began pulling the sand back towards him, a precaution to protect himself.

Sasuke released his right arm, letting his left arch back a little. This was the move that made Kakashi a legend in his field. This was going to be the move that would kill his brother. As he saw the distance between him and Gaara get small and smaller, he struck his arm out, aiming it straight for the face. "**Chidori!**" Sasuke yelled out. This was probably the best move in his arsenal and probably the strongest as well. If this doesn't stop him, he didn't know what would.

Gaara's eyes widened when he realized there was a chakra induced arm flying towards his face. He jumped back, giving him enough time to avoid the technique as well as counter it with one of his own. "**Ry****ū****sa Bakury****ū**" Gaara held his hands under the Rabbit seal as sand erupted from the ground, soaring to the surface.

Sasuke's face went from a smirk to shock in less than a second. He had never seen this much sand in his life. His speed hasn't decreased much except that instead of normal ground he was running on, it was on sand, a lot of sand. As he ran closer, sand spikes came flying in his path, trying to stop him but it didn't stop the young avenger. Sasuke slashed with his Chidori induced arm, ripping the spikes in half. Seeing his opponent standing just in front of him, Sasuke dashed forward, with one single intention in mind. Winning the match.

"**Sabaku Kyu**" Gaara brought his hands closer together, causing the sand to come together, finally catching Sasuke in his trap. Gaara let out a small sigh of relief as his opponent was stopped just in the nick of time. He stared at the round capsule in front of him. "Die. **Sabaku Sōsō**." Gaara stated. His hand slowly closed itself in a crushing motion and the sand began to follow.

"**Chidori**!" A hand suddenly came out from the sand, hitting Gaara on the shoulders.

"AHH!" Gaara cried out. He clutched his shoulder from the pain. "My blood. You made me spill my own blood!"

Sasuke continued to press onto the wound, trying to make Gaara release the sand.

Gaara managed to break away from Sasuke's grip, stepping away from his opponent. "I will _kill_ you." With his left hand, Gaara forcefully slammed his palm shut, causing the sand to rapidly close.

Sasuke looked around, his environment getting smaller. He could feel his arm struggling to break out. Every part of his body was struggling but his left arm was the only one moving free. '_Wait. If the Chidori could pierce through the sand, it would means it might break a hole big enough for me to get out.'_ Sasuke gambled everything on this move. If it didn't work, then everything will be for naught. '_Sharingan!'_ The Uchiha bloodline appeared on his eyes once more, giving him the ability to detect chakra around the sand. He concentrated chakra around his left hand one more time, bringing it to a near maximum. He winced at the pain, knowing that he was near his limit.

His hand began to glow a bright color once again and struck his arm out, already starting to tear his way out.

Gaara watched in amazement as his opponent began tearing apart his sand. Too bad this wasn't going to happen. He focused some more chakra into the sand, reinforcing the defense. Sand began to reform itself in the areas that Sasuke already destroyed, quickly repairing itself.

"Die." Gaara calmly stated. He move his hands in a circular motion and another layer of sand surrounded the first, completely cutting Sasuke off. He started laughing slowly as the sand began to decompress, crushing everything inside.

Genma stood there, passively watching the match. It was his job to ensure the safety of the contestants and uphold the rules but it was against his better judgment to let them die. He rather that they die in a real battle than here. Less of a hassle for him. He watched on for a minute more. '_The Uchiha surely isn't escaping that.'_

He stepped down from his spot, judging from the lack of movement from the inside of the sphere, Sasuke was either dead or unconscious. He waved his hand up into the air, signaling the stop of the match. "Winner - Sabaku no Gaara!"

Gaara paid no attention to Genma and continued to slowly crush his opponent, he could feel the bones bending, hear them cracking slowly. "No one injuries me and lives." His narrowed his eyes when he saw the referee standing in front of his face, blocking his view.

"I said the match was over."

"Get lost." Gaara shoved Genma to one side and continued on with the match.

Genma frowned, he didn't want it to resort to this but this kid was asking for it.

"Gaara! Stop it right now." A rough voice shouted out, stopping Genma from taking any further action. Gaara turned around and scowled. He slowly dropped his hand and released his control over the sand. The sand slowly returned to the ground, revealing a battered and bloody Sasuke. It looked like he was impaled from the inside. Gaara formed a malicious grin on his face as he saw the blood dripping over his sand. "Mother thanks you for your blood."

The sand slowly returned to Gaara and formed another gourd, filling it once more. Gaara disappeared off the fields, leaving everyone shocked to see their precious Uchiha survivor beaten and lying probably half-dead on the ground.

The medic team rushed out on the field, starting emergency treatment.

_Audience_

Sakura held her hands over her mouth. She was too shocked to say anything. Everyone was. No one could believe that Sasuke had actually lost. "He's going to be okay right Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked as she looked towards her sensei for an answer. "Right?"

"Sakura…" Ino shook her head, putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "We can only hope for the best right now."

"Liar!" Sakura slapped her best friend's hand away. "He can't be dead." Tears slowly leaked out from her eyes. "He's the best genin Konoha ever produced. He can't die here."

"Sakura." This time Naruto decided to try. He could sympathize with the girl, knowing that he had some personal experiences of losing someone that he cared for. "Believe for the best."

"Why couldn't it have been you down there!" Sakura shouted, shocking Naruto with her statement. "If it was you, Sasuke-kun would have been alive." She managed to get the last part out while crying.

The words hit Naruto hard. This wasn't what he wanted. He thought they had changed, that they had grown closer during this exam. Apparently he was wrong. "You don't mean that." He move his hand towards Sakura, attempting to calm her down. "You don't know what your saying now."

Sakura slapped his hand away, more tears coming out. "YES I DO." She shouted into his face, not caring anymore.

"I see." Naruto replied in a hurt tone of voice. He tore his gaze on Sakura and started to walk off, leaving everyone behind.

"Where are you going Naruto!" Ino shouted. She was half-tempted to run after him, telling him that Sakura never meant any of those things. Before she could take the first step, Hikaru put a hand on her shoulders and shook her head. "I'll go take care of that lunkhead." Ino gave her a grateful smile, which Hikaru returned.

Hikaru quickly ran to catch up with Naruto, wondering what was going on. "Naruto-kun! Wait!" She grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Naruto replied. He gave a little tug on his arm, pulling away from her grip. Hikaru was surprised that he did this. "No your not. Let's talk about this."

"I said I'm fine." Naruto replied a second time, hinting that he wanted to drop this.

"We will talk about this." Hikaru demanded. "Obviously what she said affected you." She stood in front of Naruto, determined to get some answers.

Naruto sighed. "It hurts you know. You give it your all to protect these people and they take it for granted. Sometimes I think that it would have been better to not have come back." He walked over to the rails, just leaning against it.

Hikaru shook her head. "I like you the way you are. You're still the same kind, caring boy who I met all those years. So please do us a favor and don't ever change."

Naruto managed to from a small smile on his face. Hikaru always had the ability to cheer him up whenever he was down. There was just something special about this girl. In a moment, Naruto walked over and hugged her, leaving the girl shocked. It was so unexpected. "Thank you." He managed to whispered out.

Hikaru managed to nod her head, still in shock but nevertheless she managed to hug them back.

"The final round of the Chunnin Exam will be a 3 way match. The contestants will battle it out until there is one victor. Will Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara please report to the field?" Genma announced, he always looked forward to this match. He had money riding on Shikamaru that he would quit after seeing his opponents in action. He could almost taste those ryos right now.

By the time Naruto and Hikaru walked back to their group, everyone was trying to talk their lazy friend into competing. "You have to at least fight Shika." Naruto heard Ino's voice trying to reason with the young Nara boy.

"Ino. Stop being so troublesome. I know my limits and I can't fight Naruto and Gaara on even grounds. I'm like a bug compared to those giants."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm not being lazy here. I'm only speaking the truth."

Naruto shook his head. "Whatever the reason may be. It doesn't matter to me." He looked towards the field, seeing Gaara already on the field. He met the boy's intense glare, not backing away. "I'm going." He stated. He jumped off the rail, leaving everyone shocked.

"Naruto!" The group shouted. They watched as the blonde leaped from the stands, making his way towards the field.

"Shikamaru. Get down here right now!" Genma shouted. Two out of the three were already here.

Shikamaru frowned and raised his hand. "I forfeit the match."

Genma smirked as the crowd started whispering among themselves, pointing and staring at the Nara heir. Ino put her hand to her face and shook her head. "I'm going to pound you later Shika."

"Uzumaki Naruto… I hope your blood taste better than that Uchiha. Mother was disappointed."

Naruto gripped his knuckles tightly, using every ounce of will power to stop himself from attacking this boy. "I'll make you regret this."

Genma let out a small cough, getting the attention from both boys. "This is now a single match for the finals. Begin on my count."

_Hokage Booth_

"Well Hokage-sama. Looks like it has comedown between my son and Jiraiya-sama's student."

Sarutobi nodded. He had been anticipating this match since the start of the exam. "I wish your son good luck KageKaze-sama." Sarutobi then turned to Jiraiya, whispering something into his ear. "Money's on Naruto Jiraiya."

It was now Jiraiya's turn to grin. "I bet you an autograph copy of my pre-release book that it will end in a draw." The Hokage thought about this and nodded his head, shaking hands to seal the deal. "May the best man win."

"Money's mine old man."

The two turned their attention back to the match, each with bets riding on it.

_Field_

"Begin!" Genma shouted, bringing his hand down, signaling the start of the match. He quickly jumped out of the way, letting the two contestants battle it out.

Naruto quickly went through a series of hand seals before finishing it. "**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu**" Naruto summoned a huge water dragon that charged straight for Gaara. Everyone's eyes widened as how the boy managed to use a Suiton jutsu without any water around.

Gaara quickly raised his shields, using the sand to block the attack. He moved his arm and the sand went head to head against the dragon. The moisture from the water dragon was quickly absorbed by the sand, canceling the attack out. Gaara quickly dropped his guard and summoned more sand but his opponent was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you looking at?" Naruto appeared from behind Gaara, shocking the boy. He reached for a kunai from his weapon holster and went in for a stab towards the shoulder. It was already injured previously from Sasuke and he was going to take advantage of this. Gaara saw the attack coming and used the sand to push himself away, avoiding the attack.

"You seem… faster than the other one." Gaara stated in a monotone voice.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Naruto answered behind Gaara once again. Naruto attacked with a heel kick, aiming to hit Gaara on the face but the sand caught his leg in mid-air.

Gaara started smiling when he saw Naruto just hanging in mid-air. His eyes widened when he saw the Naruto that he caught disappear in smoke. "You don't seem that strong." Naruto taunted.

Gaara turned his head, surprised to be surrounded by seven Narutos. They each stretched their arms, warming up. Gaara started laughing, putting one hand over his eye. "Mother wants to greet you Uzumaki Naruto." The boy replied, his voice seemed a little bit distorted. Naruto raised his eyebrow to question the remark when another chakra source started leaking out from Gaara. This time, this one seemed more violent.

"**So it is you…**"

Naruto clutched his head from the loud echo. '_What do you want now?'_

Kyuubi let out a small chuckle. "**I'm finally awake and you greet me like this?**"

Naruto snorted. '_It was peaceful without you.'_

Kyuubi roared from his cage. '**When I break out of this, I'm going to eat you brat.**_'_

Naruto saw a sand spike flying towards him and narrowly dodged. He quickly sent his clones to distract Gaara, giving him time to figure out a plan to counter this. '_If you can't see, I'm kind of busy here.'_ Naruto growled. From the corner of his eye, he could see the malicious chakra merging with the sand.

"**That second chakra source is the Ichibi, the one tail demon. You may know him as the Shukaku.**"

Naruto's eyes widened, shocked at the news but was also more surprised when he was caught off guard by the sand. The news hit him hard. There was someone else like him in this world. He wasn't alone.

Gaara had a sadistic smile on his face as he watched his sand forcefully slam his opponent into the wall, rendering him helpless. He kept sending impulses every second, continuing the brutal attack.

"Agh." Naruto coughed out, blood leaking from his mouth. This was like nothing he ever felt before. The pressure was immense. '_Damn it fox, what am I suppose to do now?'_ Naruto received no verbal answer but a cynical laughter instead. "**You let me take over.**"

'_Never you furball.'_ Naruto tried to repel against the attack, summoning his own chakra to protect himself. He couldn't move his hands to perform any jutsus.

"I'm going to feast on your corpse!" Gaara brought his hands together, calling forth some more sand. They came together, surrounding him in a capsule like before.

Naruto continued to struggle against the sand but stopped momentarily as he felt Gaara's chakra level spike up.

_Audience_

Everyone shuddered against the malicious chakra, feeling the evil aura radiating off the boy. Hikaru felt herself shivering for some reason. "What's going on here? Why am I shaking like this?" She quietly asked.

"It's not what's going on here. It's who." Araki replied. She was shaking herself. The power radiating from the other boy was unbelievable. It was unreal that a boy his age could produce this much killing intent

_Field _

"AHHH!" Naruto cried out. The boy kept screaming as chakra exploded from him, making its way towards the surface. Hikaru held her hands over her mouth, shocked. "Oh Naruto-kun…"

Naruto continued to scream, feeling his insides burning. '_Bloody fox!'_ This was the last time he listened to him. Release everything the fox said. What a joke. He could feel the pain spasm through his entire body but he could feel the sand dissolving around his body, dropping him to the ground.

He slowly got up, ignoring the pain somehow. This was a hundred times worse than Araki's training regime. "**Well done boy. There's hope for you yet.**" Kyuubi snickered. It was always amusing to see his container in pain. It was one of the things he has to live for nowadays.

'_Go to hell fox.'_ Naruto said, countering the remark.

"**Already been there. Now it's time for my appearance.**"

'_Wait what?'_ Naruto asked. He suddenly dropped to his knees, feeling a lost of breath. Then it hit him, a sudden wave of pain erupted from inside. He saw his arms, the redish-orange chakra rushing out and merging with his own. Naruto released a howl of pain, scaring everyone.

_Audience_

"Is that _his _chakra?" Gai slowly asked. It has been a long time since he felt the demonic chakra. It was more evil than the first one. Gai was about to step forward when Kakashi stopped him.

"No. Naruto's still there. Look." Kakashi pointed towards the field where Naruto was slowly getting on his knees, struggling to keep control.

"I hope your right Kakashi. For everyone's sake."

Kakashi sighed. He also hoped he was right because if he wasn't, Konoha wont have a chance this time around.

_Field_

Naruto stood up, his fangs sharper than before. He saw his hands, marveling at his transformation. They were almost claw like due to the chakra outline. The pain slowly subdue, leaving Naruto feeling relief. "**I refuse to let Shukaku think poorly about my container. You will kill him!**" Kyuubi commanded.

'_I don't have to kill anyone!' _Naruto mentally shouted back.

"**How dare you! I lent you my help and this is how you repay me?**" Kyuubi shot back. He rammed himself against the cage, causing a strain on Naruto's head. "**Next time you need my help. I might not be reluctant to help you human. Remember it.**" That was the last thing the fox said before cutting off communications.

Naruto could feel his head calming down now that the fox went back into his area, leaving him alone. Still, without the fox, he could have never broken free from the sand or have a fighting chance now.

He saw the sand capsule in front of him, the chakra level still increasing. He easily made his way in front of the sand capsule, easily avoiding the sand spikes that came out of the sand. Arching back both of his arms, palms wide open, he concentrated and a familiar feeling returned. It happened so fast, as if it was just second nature to form these Rasengans.

Naruto felt the Rasengans almost ready, he thrust his arms towards the object in front of him, disintegrating anything that came in contact with him. "**Double Impact Rasengan**!" Naruto cried out as he made contact. A loud explosion occurred and a white light blinded the area, leaving everyone to shield their eyes from the bright light.

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter has only been proofread once by me since I'm a bit short on time. Will do it again later myself. 

New Techniques!

Double Impact Rasengan - Double Rasengans. It was a cool name when i thought of it in my head.

Now some of you may be asking how did Sasuke break the sand barrier. Science can be used here. Fire is a tool that we need to make glass. Increase the temperature of fire high enough that sand will actually become glass. It is like the same thing oysters do to make pearls, just compression.

Water and Sand, it's like water and dirt, both absorbing the liquid, rending it useless.

Lets show me some lovely feedback. I appreicate the time you took to read my story and would love to hear from you guys.


	18. The Final Showdown

It's been a long time hasn't it? Yup. It has. Sorry about that.

* * *

Chapter 18: The Final Showdown

Silence.

From afar, everyone held on to their breath, anxiously waiting to see what the results yield. Never before have they seen such an exciting fight between the contestants. Time seem to have frozen as the audience watched with anticipation from their seats. More dust wandered around the area, blocking everyone's view.

As the people watched from the stands, they could see faint movements from the field but unsure of who was who.

Naruto looked on with a shocked expression. He took a sniff of the foul air, releasing a feint growl. "What did you _do_ to yourself?"

Instead of a verbal answer from Gaara, a pair of claws made from sand shot out from the sides, intending of crushing Naruto. Gaara heard a clap from his sand but frowned when he saw that Naruto had escaped once again.

"Come out and play Ichibi." Naruto taunted. Kyuubi had already supplied him with more than enough information. Even though the demon inside Gaara was the Ichibi, the weakest of the demons, it was still a demon nonetheless and he shouldn't underestimate him. More sand continued to follow him through the thick dust and it was gaining fast. From the corner of his eye, he could see Gaara slowly watching him.

Gaara's eyes followed his opponent, his anger rising each time as the blonde escaped his sand. '_I want his blood!'_ The voice inside his head screamed. Gaara clutched his head, trying to make it stop. "Wait!" Gaara growled.

Naruto continued to run in circles around the sand until he noticed Gaara smacking himself on the head. As he tried to get closer to examine the boy, he noticed the barrier was recreating itself slowly. Naruto struck his hands into the barrier and grabbed on to Gaara. "I said come out and play."

Sand began to surround Gaara's face, transforming it into something more frightening. Gaara titled his head up and gave Naruto a sadistic smirk. "Why don't you come in and play?" Gaara reversed the situation in an instant. He could feel both the strength and bloodlust of the boy increasing with each passing second.

Before Naruto knew it, he was on the receiving end. Instead of him pulling Gaara out, Gaara was pulling him in. Naruto quickly summoned more of the fox's chakra and yanked himself loose but not without scratches on his arm. He quickly disappeared in the air and landed far enough away from Gaara as possible, wondering why he was transforming. He quickly went through a set of hand seals and took a deep breath. "**Futon: Diappota**."

Just as the words left his mouth, another explosion occurred, almost knocking the boy off his feet. He lost control of his balance and was knocked back by the sudden burst of wind. As the jutsu carried out its effect, He looked straight at Gaara, the sand cocoon no longer surrounding him. Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at Gaara, both amazed and shocked at the transformation. The red-hair boy was no longer there but in his place, stood a creature that resembled a raccoon.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" The raccoon like creature screeched out. "You're mine!" It charged straight at Naruto, his claw aiming to catch Naruto.

Naruto was caught by surprise; his attention was still focused on Gaara's transformation. It was just unbelievable. A demon and human merging. Could it be possible? His thoughts were rudely interrupted when he was slammed straight into the wall with the Gaara/Shukaku creature staring straight into him. "Bring him out." The monster demanded, crushing Naruto even more.

"Who?" Naruto grunted.

"Do not play smart with me human. Tell Kyuubi to come out here!" Shukaku whispered using Gaara's voice.

"Go to hell." Naruto spat out.

"If you won't bring him out, I will." Shukaku gave Naruto a malice smile before mumbling words in an unknown language.

'_What is he mumbling?' _Naruto thought as he stared at the demon. He saw a faint yellow chakra outline surrounding the creature before making its way over to him. Before he knew it, he started to lose consciousness.

_Inside Naruto's mind_

"**Pathetic human. I gave you some of my power and you still couldn't defeat Shukaku? The weakest of the demons?"** A loud voice roared out.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, already knowing where he was. "How do you expect me to fight a demon on even grounds? Did you forget that I'm a mere human?"

"**I will not be spoken to like this!"** Kyuubi slammed the bars of his prison, causing the room to shake. **"If you truly care about what happens to your friends then you will let me out!"**

"How do I let you out without really letting you out?"

"**Insolent mortal. You leave me with no other choice."**

Before Naruto could question that answer, Kyuubi's chakra suddenly wrapped around Naruto, forcing itself into his body. "What… do you think you're doing!" Naruto shouted.

He tried to move his hands to break free but the chakra stood there, enforcing itself as it slowly entered his body. **"Patience kit… patience."** Suddenly the chakra disappeared and Naruto dropped to the ground but it didn't stop there. His hands began to move itself and forming some seals. His eyes widened when a large scroll appeared in front of him. He looked up at Kyuubi with a questioning gaze. **"This is a summoning contract. You will sign it with your blood."**

"What kind of contract is this?"

**"The contract of the foxes."**

Naruto dropped his jaw slightly, surprised at the kindness that Kyuubi was showing. "Aw… Does Kyuubi care about me?" He spoke up, mocking his demon.

**"You will sign it and summon me brat. I will not have Shukaku think less of my container."** Kyuubi watched as Naruto slowly opened the ancient scroll before signing it. **"Go and do it."** Naruto nodded his head, knowing that this fight just got even more interesting.

_Outside Naruto's mind_

"WAKE UP. I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET." Shukaku screamed.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, a smirk on his face. "You wanted Kyuubi? Well you got him." He broke free of Shukaku's hold and jumped away.

'_Boar. Dog. Monkey. Bird. Sheep.'_ Naruto flipped through the set of hand seals and felt a familiar rush of chakra going through his body. He quickly slammed his palm to the ground to finish the jutsu. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" Naruto whispered out.

Shukaku watched in anticipation as the boy finished the summoning technique. "I have defeated numerous summons in the past. Do not waste my time with this one!" The demon charged in, his razor sharp claws stretched out, aiming to kill.

"**Does the mighty Ichibi think he's all that?" **A loud voice called out. Shukaku's eye's widened as he recognized the voice. He hesitantly stopped his attack and jumped away, a look of fear written across his face.

"**You wanted my attention so badly before. Where's that cocky attitude now!" **A fox shape figure ran through the smoke and appeared in front of Shukaku's face, savoring the moment. In a split second, the fox smacked Shukaku into the opposite wall with one of its claws. "Remember our deal Kyuubi." Naruto called out from afar.

Kyuubi released a loud roar before releasing a huge steam of fire towards Shukaku. The sand demon shook off his initial surprise and turned around, letting the fire hit its backside.

"Kyuubi! You will not to kill him!" Naruto yelled.

Kyuubi growled at the comment and showed his displeasement to Naruto but that was all the sand demon needed to gain the upper hand. "**Fuuton: Renkuudan.**" He inhaled a deep breath before releasing it in a form of several bullets, striking kyuubi several times on his chest.

"**How about some help over here brat?**" Kyuubi yelled out. Naruto turned his attention back to the fight. He saw Shukaku on top of Kyuubi, his claws around the fox's throat. **"You should have given me more chakra!"**

Naruto quickly ran over to Kyuubi's side, tackling Shukaku away. He appeared in front of Shukaku's face, shocking the demon. "Gaara. If you're in there. I'm sorry." Naruto gave Shukaku a hard head butt, causing it to relinquish the chokehold. Naruto twisted in mid-air and summoned chakra to his palm once more. "**Rasengan**!" Naruto shouted out as he thrust his palm into the demon's stomach.

Kyuubi got back on its feet and followed up on the attack. "**Byakko Happa**" Kyuubi roared out. Each of his 9 tails started to rise up and his eyes changed colors before his jaw opened, releasing a stream of white fire.

The two watched as the jutsu's met the one tail demon head on, resulting in another explosion. As it struggled to get up, both of them knew that the match was over. **"Know your place Ichibi."** Kyuubi whispered before disappearing. Naruto sighed as he walked over to examine Gaara. The mighty armor that protected the boy started to fade away, returning to the harmless sand once more.

Gaara struggled to get up, his body wavering as he got back up. "Stay… Stay away!" Gaara shouted in fear. He dropped back to the ground and scooted backwards, for the first time in his life fearing the man in front of him.

"Gaara…" Naruto spoke as he walked forward. "We both have demons inside of us but you chose to use it for killing. I used mine to gain strength. I won't forgive you for hurting Sasuke but I won't kill you either."

Gaara stopped backing away, his eyes blinking for a minute. "You don't know what it was like to be me."

Naruto shook his head, disagreeing. "Loneliness. Hatred. I can see it in your eyes. The only difference between you and me is that I found people who accepted me for who I am." He turned his head and looked towards the stand, smiling as he saw his precious people. Gaara followed the boy's gaze and saw who he was looking at. "Find your precious people Gaara and then we'll have a rematch."

Gaara shook his head before chuckling. "You are a strange one Uzumaki Naruto."

Genma cleared his throat, a smile clearly written across his face. "Winner of the final round and the winner of this year's chunnin exam is Naruto Uzumaki!" One by one, the audience started to stand up and clapped. For the first time in his life, Naruto did not feel alone anymore. Standing before him was people who shunned him out, people who hated him but today, they were clapping on his behalf.

"Here." Naruto held his hand out which Gaara accepted without hesitation. Gaara suddenly narrowed his darkened eyes. "Go to the Hokage now." Before Naruto could question Gaara's motive, a loud explosion occurred outside the stadium, causing everyone to stumble to the ground. "GO!" Gaara shouted as he pushed Naruto away. Naruto looked around, his eyes widened before disappearing.

_Hokage's Booth_

"What is the meaning of this Kazekage?" Sarutobi asked.

"Ku ku ku. I'm surprise you didn't recognize me sensei." The Kazekage threw off his hat, revealing his face.

The Hokage shook his head in disappointment. "Orochimaru... It was you who didn't recognize me." The Hokage that Orochimaru was holding on disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the snake sannin surprised. "I'm disappointed in you."

The snake Sannin quickly turned around and was met face to face with the two people he did not expect to see. "Sensei… Jiraiya…" He spat out the names as if they were the scorns of the earth. "I must say… I didn't expect to see you here Jiraiya but it doesn't matter. Today will be the day that Konoha falls by my hands!"

Orochimaru ripped off his disguise and threw them off the roof, signaling the start of something.

_Stadium_

Kabuto stood there and smirked behind his mask. The signal has been given. "**Nehan Shouja no Jutsu.**" The medic nin went through the hand seals and smiled as he watched the effects take place. Pretty soon, the entire stadium began to fall asleep thanks to his genjutsu.

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched as he noticed something was off. "It's a genjutsu! Everyone dispel it quickly!" The Copy Ninja shouted. Everyone around, including the genin looked around before performing the cancellation technique. Cries of kai could be heard throughout the stadium but it was short lived. Oto and Suna ninjas jumped over the walls, commencing the attack.

"Kakashi! We're under attack!" Gai muttered as he dodged a kick from one Oto ninja and countered with a fierce punch to the ninja's face.

"You think? We have to evacuate." Kakashi responded while fighting off his own enemies. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.**" Kakashi released a huge fireball, scorching his enemies in front of him. "Sakura! Gather everyone and have them evacuate the stadium"

Sakura looked at her sensei, fear written across her face. She screamed when she saw an incoming attacker. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come but it never did.

"We're under attack. Get out now."

She noticed that his lazy tone wasn't there anymore but it was replaced by a more firm tone. "Why? Aren't we suppose to be allies with Suna?" She questioned.

"GO!" Kakashi shouted. This was no time for her questions. Lives were at stake with each second wasted here. Sakura winced from his voice and ran off. "Shikamaru! I know you're awake."

Shikamaru slowly got up, not really wanting to face the jounin. "Uh.. Yeah. I was going to get up."

"Spare me your excuse Shikamaru. You have demonstrated leadership ability during your match so I'm putting you in charge. Go with Sakura and help her evacuate the civilians."

Kakashi shook his head and cracked the neck of another ninja. The boy was so troublesome. Just like his father.

"Gah!" Gai suddenly appeared from behind Kakashi and kicked another ninja away, saving Kakashi's life. "It looks like I just saved your life my eternal rival!" Gai stood there, a smile on his face.

Kakashi chuckled and threw a kunai over Gai's neck. "Debt repaid."

Gai quickly turned around and saw that the kunai was lodged in an Oto ninja's throat. "That is so hip of you Kakashi!" The two disappeared from the area, their attention turned to the remaining invaders.

_Hokage's Booth_

"It's been a long time hasn't it." Sarutobi spoke up, ending the silence that had enveloped the area.

"I have waited too long for this day sensei." Orochimaru answered, his face forming an evil grin.

"One of us will not be leaving here alive teme!" Jiraiya glared at his former friend. He had spent years monitoring him and today, he will finally settle the score.

"Indeed but you're a fool as always Jiraiya. Did you not expect me to anticipate a surprise like this?"

Four people suddenly jumped onto the roof using ANBU disguises. Jiraiya turned his head, looking at the four ANBU strangely. "So you have infiltrated even ANBU."

Orochimaru laughed. "That's just the beginning. Show yourself my elite sound!" At his command, the four ANBU disposed of their disguises and showed themselves, each standing at a corner. "**Shishi Enjin**!" Just as they finished the name, a violet barrier came up, surrounding the entire area.

"Like my new technique Jiraiya? I invested a lot of time teaching it to them. This is the ultimate barrier!" Orochimaru boasted.

"Like hell it is!" A voice yelled out. Orochimaru quickly turned around and was greeted to a punch to the face. The snake sannin staggered back a little while wiping the blood off his lips.

"You…" He growled.

"Naruto!"

"Gaki!"

The Hokage and Jiraiya both shouted, surprised to see the boy. "This battle is out of your league. You have to leave." Naruto shook his head, disagreeing with them. "No. You need me here and you know it."

Orochimaru's face scowled. The wildcard. It was always the wildcard that threw his plans into a mess. "Looks like I have to even the playing fields."

"This isn't your battle gaki." Jiraiya looked at Naruto, noticing that his wounds were already healing. "You're already exhausted. There is no way you can continue here."

"I owe that hebi a favor from before and I always repay people for their favors." Naruto made a fist and pointed it to Orochimaru. "I intend to beat you Orochimaru."

"Ku ku ku Naruto-kun. Must you always get in my way? 3 against 1. I hardly counts that as fair."

"I can even it up if you want teme." Naruto held his hands in a ram seal but before he can continue, Sarutobi stopped him. "Naruto. Watch carefully because this is one battle that will decide the future." Naruto stared at the old man, wondering why he was saying things like this now.

"Come Orochimaru. I have waited for this day for a long time." The Hokage threw off his robes, revealing his battle armor.

"Sensei. You old fool. You can't defeat me in your old age."

"I can try."

Orochimaru sneered. "Let me show you the fruits of my hard work! **Edo Tensei!**"

As quickly as the words left his mouth, wooden coffins started to rise up from the ground with kanji's written on them. Everyone's eyes widened when they realized what was coming next. "Orochimaru…" Sarutobi stared at his old student, anger clearly shown in his eyes. "How dare you use this kinjutsu!" He watched helplessly as the coffin with the kanji for one and two finished summoning. The last coffin was the one that shocked everyone. As it slowly rose up from the ground, the kanji for four made its way to the top.

Orochimaru laughed to himself as he saw the fear in each of their eyes. Fear was a great tool to utilize in combat.

"I'm sure you recognize them. Why don't you say hello?" Orochimaru said, his voice filled with pride. The doors of the coffin slowly open, revealing the past Hokages.

Each of them stepped out, confusion written across their face. "Aren't we dead brother?" The shodaime spoke up.

The third stood there, shocked to see his predecessors standing in front of them. "You guys…" He swallowed that lump in his throat, standing here almost tearful. His heart swelled with guilt, knowing that their souls would disappear once more when the fight was over.

"Brother. It is Sarutobi."

"It's been a long time Saru." The past Hokages greeted their long time friend.

Jiraiya and Naruto stood there, speechless. They were really here, all the past Hokages. Standing before them with flesh and bones.

"Hello Jiraiya-sensei…" Another voice spoke up, catching their attention. Jiraiya was the first one to turn around, his eyes found themselves on a too familiar face.

"…Minato" The Yondaime smiled, greeting his old sensei. "It's been a long time…" He took a step forward, noticing a small boy for the first time. He narrowed his eyes, noticing something very similar about this boy. "Who is this boy?" He questioned.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto spoke up. He glared at the fourth, the person responsible for sealing the fox inside him.

"Ah I see." Minato responded. "You've grown to be a strong young man haven't you Naruto?"

Naruto didn't respond, only standing there glaring at the man who condemned him to be the Kyuubi's captor.

"Gentlemen. You'll have plenty of time to talk when you're all dead!" Orochimaru stated. He threw three kunais into the back of their heads with a seal on them.

"Looks like we'll have to fight huh old man." The Yondaime spoke up, turning to the third.

Sarutobi only nodded his head sadly. This wasn't suppose to be like this. "Orochimaru!" Sarutobi yelled out. "Today I will be correcting all my past mistakes and I'll start off my promise by finishing what I started with you!" He jumped into the air before holding his hand to his mouth. "**Katon: Karyuu Endan.**"

The fire dragon charged straight at Orochimaru but was stopped by a huge body of water. "**Suiton: Suishoha.**" The Nidaime held his hands together from his mouth, his eyes closed. "I'm sorry Saru but we can't let you harm Orochimaru."

The third landed on the ground, surprised at the second's ability to manipulate water. He sadly shook his head. '_The things that I've forgotten.'_

"Look out Saru. Here I come!" The Shodai shouted. He jumped into the air, preparing a heel drop over the third's head. Before he had a chance to connect, Naruto tackled the first onto the ground, preventing him from completing the attack. The first pushed Naruto away and jumped back, surprised to see that the boy had some skill to match his speed. "Who is this boy?"

"He is Uzumaki Naruto. A genin." The first smiled at the boy, pleased at his strength and will. "You have the fire burning deep inside of you Naruto. It is a shame we couldn't have met under different circumstances." He quickly held out his palm, vines shooting straight out.

Naruto rolled to one side and summoned a blade of his own. "It has been an honor to fight you Shodai Hokage." He bowed once and held the sword out, ready to fight back. He ran in, his heart beating faster and faster. He ducked under the first's haymaker swing and swung upward, chopping off his arm.

The first sported a surprised look before jumping back. "You have some skill but it's not enough." He held out the arm that Naruto just chopped off and regenerated it. "**Mokuton: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu**" The Shodai called out as three clones of the first appeared, each of them going into their fighting stance.

"**Katon: Karyuu Endan.**" A large fire dragon appeared once more, incinerating the clones. The third jumped in front of Naruto with his hand held out, stopping the boy. "This is my fight Naruto. Go help Jiraiya." Naruto nodded his head and ran off.

_With Jiraiya_

"You've gotten soft in your old age sensei." Minato answered. He flipped over Jiraiya but not before landing a blow to the shoulder. Jiraiya paid him no attention as he dodged another near fatal blow from Orochimaru's clone.

"**Rasengan**!" A voice shouted out.

Jiraiya jumped back in time just to see Naruto connect the Rasengan with Orochimaru's clone, dispelling it. "Good job gaki."

"So you taught him the Rasengan huh?."

Jiraiya nodded his head. "He was a natural at learning it."

The fourth smiled. "Leave us Ero-sennin. I want to go one on one with the boy whom I sealed the Kyuubi in. I want to see if I made the right choice." Jiraiya nodded his head before leaving to help his sensei.

"Naruto… It's been a long time." Minato's eyes widened when Naruto disappeared in front of him and ducked under from the sword swing. "You have your mothers temper." He muttered under his breath. He took out a kunai and countered that attack. The two clashed forces, a kunai vs. a sword. Metal against metal but the outcome was obvious. The fourth used his strength and pushed the kunai against the sword, causing Naruto to concentrate on his footwork. Minato saw this as his chance and brought his knee up, connecting it with Naruto's jaw. Naruto felt himself being knocked back as he moved his jaw around.

Before he could get up, the fourth was already in front of him. '_Fast!'_ Naruto thought as the fourth picked him up by the collar and threw him up into the air.

As Naruto flew up in the air, he watched as the fourth held his palm back and his legs down, preparing to jump. His eyes widened as a swirling chakra began to appear on the fourth's palm.

"Come Naruto. Show me the Rasengan that you developed!" The fourth leaped into the air, his arm held out and the Rasengan flying straight for Naruto's face. Naruto held his own hand out and formed a Rasengan but it was poorly form. It disappeared at the last second due to the boy's lack of concentration. He had no choice but to painfully twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the fourth's attack. He felt his body panting heavily as he watched the fourth walk closer and closer.

"Why did you choose me out of everyone?" The fourth didn't answer his question as he continued to walk closer.

"I was left alone."

"I had no friends. No family."

"No one bothered to acknowledged me."

"I was treated like dirt."

"And it was all because of you!" Naruto yelled.

The fourth flinched at the boy's tone, knowing what he did was inexcusable. "I chose you because… I couldn't ask anyone else."

Naruto snarled at his answer. It didn't even help much. "You sealed the Kyuubi in me so I think it's only fair that you get to meet him again!" Naruto cut his thumb against his sword before going through the set of hand seals. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**!"

Minato jumped back, surprised at the technique. "Already so young yet so experience." He whispered.

The smoke slowly cleared, revealing something that he has not seen in 12 years. **"It's been a long time Yondaime."** Kyuubi instantly ran forward, not intending of waiting for anything. He bit his jaw down on the fourth's arm, tugging against it tightly. Minato quickly formed a Rasengan with his free hand and pushed it against the side of Kyuubi's cheek, sending the fox spiraling off but not without his right arm.

As soon as Kyuubi landed on the ground, Naruto jumped over the fox, his sword drawn out. "**Shiranui-ryu: Kurayami Tsukkakaru.**" Naruto felt the blade of his sword glow for a second before his body closed in. To his surprise, the Yondaime stood there and blocked his attack with just one arm. "You can't defeat me with at this level Naruto."

"I don't intend to." The boy replied.

"**Byakko Happa.**" Kyuubi shot his attack directly at the Yondaime while Naruto jumped out of harm's way.

Minato raised his arm to shield himself against the attack but was left wide open to Naruto. "**Shiranui-ryu: Seiryu!**"

Naruto released a battle cry as he came down hard on the Yondaime. He could see the surprised look on the Yondaime's face but it wasn't the look that he was looking for. It was almost as if he was smirking at him, taunting him. Before Naruto could connect, the Yondaime disappeared in a bright yellow flash, leaving Naruto with no target.

"This is what made me a legend Naruto."

Naruto coughed as the dust settled to the ground. He heard and learned all about the fourth from Ero-sennin. All his stories and accomplishments. It was never meant to get him jealous, only to make him work harder. "Hirashin no Jutsu..." Naruto stated.

Minato smiled. "Good, so you have heard of it." He disappeared again, this time going straight for Naruto.

Naruto saw the bright flash in front of his eyes but he couldn't do anything to stop it. He was bombarded by a fury of hard punches everywhere, getting pummeled none stop. **"Kit. Come to me."** Kyuubi cried out weakly. He was feeling the effects from the fourth's Rasengan. He didn't have much time left in this summon form. **"NOW!"** The demon roared out.

The fourth continued to circle around Naruto, continuing his assault. Naruto gritted his teeth as he tried to defend himself against the Hirashin but he was moving way to fast. From the corner of his eye, he could see the Kyuubi struggling to get up. "Kyuubi! Shoot your beam at me one more time!" Naruto cried out.

Kyuubi slowly struggled to his feet before complying with the request. "**Byakko Happa**!"

As the attack came closer, The yondaime wisely stopped his attack which Naruto expected. He took this chance to leap away and regroup with Kyuubi. "So what now?" Naruto asked as he dropped down to one knee, trying to catch his breath.

**"I don't have much time left here but before I go, let me tell you how we're going to defeat him."** Kyuubi whispered as low as he can.

"Okay I'm listening." Naruto kept his attention focused on the enemy, unsure on how much time they had to spare.

**"Destroy the body which will then force the soul out. If there is no able host for the soul to reside in, it will simply go back into the afterlife."**

"Easier said than done." Naruto retorted.

**"MOVE!"** Kyuubi shouted, sensing the Yondaime coming closer. The two jumped apart, dodging the heel drop. The fourth then ran after Naruto, throwing a kunai towards him. Naruto saw it coming and dodged it by moving to the left. The fourth quickly appeared on Naruto's right and performed a leg sweep, hoping to catch Naruto off guard.

Naruto saw it coming and countered with a spinning heel kick. The fourth quickly Hirashin away, leaving Naruto with nothing but air. He reappeared behind Naruto and tried to knock the boy from the back but Kyuubi stepped in, interfering with the attack. The demon's tails wrapped themselves around the Yondaime, trapping his body. **"Now kit!"**

_With Jiraiya and Sarutobi_

"**Doton - Doryuu Taiga.**" The third held his palms together and released a river of mud, completely covering the field.

"Saru!" The Shodai yelled as he quickly jumped into battle, overwhelming the third with his taijutsu style. Punch after punch, the current Hokage wasn't fairing so well. Even in his old age, he wasn't much of a fighter compared to these two.

"**Suiton - Mizurappa.**" A stream of water shot towards the unexpected Hokage. Sarutobi heard the attack and saw the stream of water coming towards him. He jumped into the air, avoiding the attack. "I forget you can create water from nothing." He muttered to himself.

As he was up in the air, he saw the Shodaime standing there rapidly going through a set of hand seals. "**Kokuangyo no Jutsu.**"

Darkness soon covered the entire area, rendering the vision of everyone limited. Sarutobi cursed his luck. He never really found a way to counter this jutsu. As the third stood there, he tried to listen for any movements but there were too much sounds interfering in the background.

"I want him dead now." Orochimaru ordered, speaking up from the darkness.

As he commanded, both the first and second Hokage jumped in front of their successor, initiating the attack. Before either of them could land the blows, Jiraiya jumped in, tackling them both to the ground. "If you have a plan, I would like to hear it now."

The third nodded his head. "I need time to prepare for it. Buy me some time!" He ordered.

Jiraiya nodded his head. He stepped in front of his sensei and took a defensive position. "You may be hokages but I am JIRAIYA of the legendary Sannin. The legendary Pervert!"

* * *

Authors Note: Somewhat short chapter but the next one should be up in a few days. Wanted a double release but didn't want to wait anymore. I have not proofread this chapter yet. I will go back and do it at a later date. 

Techniques

**Byakko Happa - **Literally White Fox Blast. Like it's name, it is a highly concentrated form of a beam, shooting it out of its mouth and at it's opponent.  
**Kokuangyo no Jutsu -** The Harbringer of Darkness.  
**Shiranui-ryu: Seiryu -** The last technique in the Shiranui-ryu style. Very destructive if it connects.


	19. A Whole New Adventure

The final chapter in the series. Please take a look at the bottom when you're done.

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Chapter 19: A Whole New Adventure

Jiraiya stuck his fist out in the air, waiting for them to attack. After his declaration, the battle was on now.

"Surely the past Hokages aren't afraid of one man?" He taunted. As his eyes wandered around, he saw nothing but darkness.

Suddenly without warning, he felt pain coming from his right side. He ignored it as he knew they were attacking from within the darkness.

The Hokages stood there, awaiting the hermit's next move. They nodded at each other, perfect communication between each other, just like old times. Moving without speaking. The Nidaime went in and did a leg sweep, weakening Jiraiya's position while his brother came in front the front and hit him hard with several punches, sending Jiraiya to the floor.

Jiraiya groaned as he landed on the floor. "Easy on the goods. I need them for research."

He heard a slight movement against the air and he instantly got back up and jumped away, avoiding a kick but it did the hermit no good. As soon as he was in the air, he heard the first calling something out.

"**Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Koutan**."

"Oh crap." Jiraiya felt something growing from under him and within seconds, he was being hit by tree branches.

"Can't a pervert get a break?" He landed against a tree and leaned against it. "It's too dark in here." The Sannin commented.

"Let there be light! **Katon: Karyuu Endan**." Jiraiya went through the necessary hand seals with haste, unleashing the flame dragon.

The dragon went through the area, lighting it up and causing the area to be lit up. Jiraiya's eyes wandered around, trying to find the Hokages. "Now where are…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was greeted with a knee to his face, causing him to drop to the ground.

Sarutobi watched from afar as his old student was taking a beating. As Jiraiya landed on the ground hard, he found it hard not to wince from the pain. Shaking off the imaginary pain, he went back to his task. Breaking the Edo Tensei.

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu**." The third called out. Within moments, several copies of the third appeared by his side, waiting for orders. "Good. Now we wait…"

Jiraiya quickly got back up on his feet and blocked the heel drop from the second by raising his hands. As he looked straight, he saw the first rapidly approaching so he did the only thing he could. By grabbing onto the second's ankles, he dragged the man down and threw him to an advancing first, knocking them both back but to the sannin's surprise, they both disappeared in smoke. He quickly turned around and saw the two Hokages with their fist already within his proximity.

As soon as the punch connected, Jiraiya exploded, shocking the Hokages as they were forcefully thrown away by the explosion. "Bang." Jiraiya chuckled from atop as he watched the scene play out. Jiraiya's entertainment soon died out as he saw the Hokages walking out with their limbs instantly regenerating. "Come on! Can't a man get a break?" He yelled out but unfortunately for him, it alerted his enemies to his whereabouts.

_With Naruto_

Kyuubi stood his ground, his tails holding the fourth back. Minato struggled to get out but it was futile. The strength the Kyuubi was displaying was unbelievable. To believe that a summon could possess this much chakra was not possible.

"How?" The fourth asked his only question that he himself couldn't answer.

Naruto closed his eyes, shaking his head. "It was during the match with Gaara and his demon. They showed me the endless possibilities that you could do when you summon a demon. He chose to merge and become one. I chose to make it more than a summon. I chose to make it almost real."

"I see… So this is the end?"

Again, Naruto shook his head. "It is never the end Yondaime-sama. As long as there is still oxygen that moves a human body, it is never truly the end. Even in death, the will of a human being is stronger than everything."

"**I'm going to enjoy feasting on your soul."** Kyuubi spoke up, his eyes staring hungrily at his prey.

"It looks like the old man is almost done." Naruto started walking over, his palms hanging down. "Release him Kyuubi."

"**Are you insane? He'll kill you! I refuse to die like this."** Kyuubi growled.

"I need to see for myself what kind of man he was when he was alive." He held out his palm, instantly forming a Rasengan. "Come Yondaime-sama. Let me send you back to the afterlife with a gift!"

Kyuubi reluctantly released the fourth, his eyes dangerously glaring at Naruto. **"I swear upon my demon blood that if you die, I will devour everyone and everything that you once cared for."**

"I'm not going to die." Naruto responded confidently before Kyuubi disappeared.

Minato stood there, his own Rasengan was already formed. "Show me the man you become Naruto!" The late Yondaime Hokage yelled as he ran forward.

"Rasengan" Both males shouted, a boy and his former idol, dueling for male pride. As the Rasengans clashed, both men struggled to gain dominant control. From the outside, it would look like the fourth was winning but in Naruto's eyes, he was going to win.

The technique grinded against each other but not breaking. "Is this all you got Naruto?" The fourth spoke up as he looked into the boy's eyes. "I guess sealing the Kyuubi within you was a mistake!" He shoved his arm forward, intending of ending Naruto's life.

Unfortunately for the fourth, saying that sentence meant pissing Naruto off even more. "I have been through hell all my life but you know what?" Naruto stood his ground and pushed back. "I have come to terms with who I am and will continue to be who I am!" With his last effort, his own Rasengan suddenly increased in size and swallowed the fourth's Rasengan whole, shocking Minato.

"I always believed in you Naruto… My son…" Minato whispered, believing that it fell into deaf ears but unknown to him, Naruto heard ever word of it. He unconsciously pulled his arm back but it was already too late, the Rasengan had already hit the fourth dead on, sending him flying into the battle between Jiraiya and the other Hokages.

"Ero-Sennin! In coming!" Naruto yelled out, warning the sannin at the last minute.

_With Jiraiya_

Jiraiya heard the warning in time just to see his former apprentice fly over his head, crashing into the other Hokages. "A better warning next time gaki!" Jiraiya yelled back. Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he walked over.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth, anger taking over. He never expected them to defeat the past Hokages. They were named Hokages for a goddamn reason! He couldn't move an inch or else the jutsu would be disrupted. The price that one has to pay for success. "Get up you mindless fools. You disgrace the name of Hokages."

They looked at Orochimaru, clearly feeling the insult but anger wasn't written across their face. It was if they couldn't turn against him.

"That's right. You have no feelings. You will go and kill them!" He sneered.

The past Hokages felt something tingling from the back of their neck and marched forward, following Orochimaru's bidding.

"Jiraiya! Let's do this." The third yelled out.

"Naruto! Follow my lead." Jiraiya began to flip though the hand seals, hoping that his current apprentice would get the idea.

Lucky for him, Naruto saw what Jiraiya was looking at and began to mimic him.

"**Doton: Yomi Numa**." Both master and apprentice cried out.

The ground slowly turned into a swamp, catching all the Hokages in place.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this." Sarutobi lowered his head as he and his clones stood on top of the swamp.

The third slowly went through the hand seals, getting them correctly the first time. "Shiki Fuujin!" He cried out.

Soon a darkness, darker than dark swept in the arena. It was an abnormal feeling for everyone there. The atmosphere dropped instantly and the effects could be felt. Minato only shook his head, understanding the technique. It was a very familiar one. "Smart choice old man…"

"I'm sorry that I couldn't raise Naruto to your benefit."

The fourth shook his head, disagreeing with him. "I couldn't have been more proud than what he has become."

"Shiki Fuujin SEAL!" A clone of the third's took the fourth's soul and disappeared.

"Shodaime, Nidaime. I'm truly sorry that your village turned out like this." Tears started coming down Sarutobi's cheeks. "I couldn't protect this village like you wanted."

"We're proud of you Saru…" The Hokages replied together. They smiled at their old friend before their seals were dragged into Kage Bushin's as well.

"Shiki Fuujin SEAL!" The clones successfully took the souls of the first and second with them, turning the corpse back to normal corpses; without a soul.

"Orochimaru… I'm coming for you!" The third shouted. He leaped over the corpses and grabbed a hold on his former student.

"Ero-sennin… Are they really gone?"

Jiraiya just nodded his head, knowing the outcome of this battle. "They returned back to the place where souls belong. The dead has no place among the living Naruto. Those that died cannot be resurrected. That's the way life intended it to be."

"Then the old man will…" Naruto turned his head, looking at the third.

"Yes… This is the same jutsu that the fourth used." Jiraiya sadly stated.

"NO!"

Naruto was about to run over but Jiraiya stopped him from going any further. "This is his battle Naruto. He told you to watch this so honor an old man's last wish."

"NOO!" Naruto watched as the old man that he considered a grandfather receive an impale straight through his stomach.

"Release my soul now you stubborn old fool!" Orochimaru shouted.

Sarutobi only grunted, concentrating on pulling the soul out. He looked up, his determined eyes meeting Orochimaru's worried eyes. He managed to produce a small grin. "This is the last lesson I can possibly give you as your teacher Orochimaru."

"DIE!" Orochimaru screamed as he managed to further stab his sword in. He wasn't going to die like this. He has yet to achieve immortality. He will not die here!

"Don't be scared Orochimaru. We will be forever locked together in the stomach of the Shinigami!" The third coughed up some blood, knowing that he didn't have much time left. With all his might, he forcefully mustered all the strength he had left and pulled on Orochimaru's soul, pulling it out of his body.

Orochimaru felt himself losing control of his own body, his body was growing cold and weaker with each passing second. He looked at his former sensei, a silly grin on his face. He cursed the old man.

The Professor, the nickname that was given to him during his reign as the Third Hokage. He has seen and studied over a thousand techniques, more than Kakashi could ever know. He has seen violence, he has seen hatred but with every bad thing that he experience, there was always some good in the village. People's smiling faces, couples going out, those were the things that he valued the most.

The Sarutobi clan, the family that he has grown to love and remember but he also had another family. The entire village of Konoha. As the protector of the village, he is going to do everything he can to ensure its safety for it was apart of his family.

"Looks like I can't kill you today Orochimaru…" The third looked up, his eyes filled with tears. "But Naruto will finish this job." With his last effort, he cut the arms off Orochimaru's soul, deciding this was for the best.

"Shiki Fuujin SEAL!" The third yelled out. The shinigami nodded his head and proceeded with the deal, taking Orochimaru's arms and Sarutobi's soul.

As the body of the Third slowly dropped to the floor, Naruto was instantly by his side while Jiraiya ran after Orochimaru.

"Hang in there Oijisan. Help's on the way." Naruto felt his voice breaking up, tears dropping out. He held his hand, gripping it tightly.

"Nah.. Naruto… This old man has led a proud life." The third took a breath before continuing. "Don't ever forget, I'll always be watching over you…" Naruto's eyes widened as his hand slowly slipped out, dropping to the ground.

"AHHHHHHH!" Naruto released his sadness, his anger all in one go. Tears poured from his eyes. He could feel a piece of his heart tearing away as he watched the man in front of him pass away.

"Naruto…" Jiraiya spoke up, putting his hand on top of Naruto's head. "It's time to go."

_A few days later_

This was indeed a sad time for everyone. The sand and sound invasion has left its mark. Konoha's victory did not come without a price. Their Hokage has fallen in battle, the Hokage that was beloved by all.

"You don't have to be here Naruto. He would understand."

Naruto shook his head. "They can blame me all they want but I will pay my respects."

Everyone in the village heard about the last stand from their Hokage. How brave he was for taking on not one but three past Hokages by himself. Of course the story was exaggerated and only a few people knew the truth. The rest of them think their local demon was responsible and he leaked out information to the enemy but because there were neither any witnesses nor any Hokages present, no trial was ever brought forth.

When it was Naruto's turn to pay his respect, he received dirty looks from some ninjas as well as the villagers. Jiraiya stood next to him, his angry glaze silencing them all.

Naruto mentally thank the man, staying by his side for the past few days. "Oijisan…" Naruto sadly chuckled to himself. "Even in death, I refuse to call you by your rightful title."

He looked towards the Hokage monument, a crack appearing along side the Third's face. "I will avenge your death Oijisan and I will watch over this village for you because now, your dream resides in me. Don't worry, I won't do anything crazy… much but know this, the village will be in great hands so just rest in peace."

Naruto slowly placed his flower on top of the casket, paying his respect.

_The next day_

"Are you ready Naruto?" Jiraiya asked while leaning against the gate.

Naruto slowly walked up the road, a nod coming from his head. "Let's go."

"You know we'll be gone for a long time right? Don't you want to say good-bye to anyone?"

Naruto shook his head. "My place isn't within this village right now but when we return, I will make amends."

Jiraiya laughed. "Spoken like a true shinobi." The duo started walking out of the village and into the sunrise, leaving their mark behind but taking with them the experiences and memories that they gained. They are off to a completely new adventure, exploring and learning as they go. This is the next chapter in their life as master and apprentice.

"_This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. _

_But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."  
_  
_- Winston Churchill_

* * *

Authors Note: Exiled Legend has finally come to an end. I decided that it was time to end this story and hopefully allow me to concentrate on Trust and Betrayal. I know Exiled Legend was my first story and I have lost track of some of its goal but hey, I'm only a beginning author with no background whatsoever in writing. I know I said in the earlier chapters that I would be making some pairings and stuff like that but as the story progressed; I noticed that I was never going to reach that point. In my mind, I saw this story not going further than the chunnin exams. Why? It would be cliche to follow the canon and well frankly, it doesn't leave me with enough room for expanding.

As a first time author, I became aware of what I can and what I cannot do in a story as well as when there is a limit on how much of a story you can write before it gets boring. I know that for the past chapters, people have been saying that the fight is so unrealistic or Naruto shouldn't be this way. I know and I hear you but the thing is, I don't write about Naruto being like Superman. I write Naruto as a human being, a person that has limits and emotions. Every person on this planet can be superman if they just become focus but when there is a lack of focus, everything falls apart. I have seen the flaws in my style of writing and I tried correcting it but I failed.

Enough of my rants. I just want to say that I truly enjoyed writing this story and getting reviews was the best part of the job. Thank you all for reading this story and left me reviews. It was a joy to read them. I know there are tons of better writers out there and maybe someday, I will be among them but as for now, I am content with where I am. Slowly learning and writing. When I first wrote this story, I never expected to get over 100 reviews but look at it now, over 300 and nearing 400. So Thank you all once again.

There will be an epilogue up sometime in the following week or so. Don't think I would leave you guys hanging with just this.


	20. The long Awaited Return

Here it is folks. The long awaited epilogue and I must say. It's been one heck of a ride. All those long chapters and different ideas clashing. It has been a blast. I was surprise to see this story reach and go beyond the 400 review mark and I'm extremely happy. I like to thank all the people that stuck with me from chapter one to now. It has been a pleasure writing for you guys.

Also like to thank Shadow of the Sun for beta reading this chapter. Much cheers.

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A cooling breeze swept through the woodland area. It was yet another boring day in Konaha. The sun shining brightly while everyone was continuing with their routine lives. A pair of chunnin guards yawned lazily as they did their job. Nothing ever exciting ever happens during their shift. Ever since the invasion, less and less people have been visiting, a sign of quiet times. 

Just off the distance, there were three figures approaching the front gates and the guards instantly sprung into action.

"Halt! Who goes there?" The chunnin's loud voice echoed outward.

The eldest of the group stared at the man as if he had grown three heads. His hands merely cupped themselves into a fist while his body was shaking from shock.

"How… How could you not remember me!? I am the man who has no enemies in the North, South, East and West… Not even in the heavens! I am one of the Sannin… White-hair frog tamer… Even a crying baby would stare in awe… The great Jira-"

Before the man could even finish his introduction properly, the taller of his traveling companions shoved the man, causing him to trip over his own feet and landing face first on the ground.

The taller companion had blond hair with distinct whisker markers on each of his checks but it was his piercing blue eyes that made him stand out the most. "We heard that introduction way too many times Ero-sennin."

The other companion, a young woman, stood there slightly giggling. She was wearing a light white and pink kimono with lilies on it. From the near distance, it would look like someone created that particular kimono for her.

As the guards watched the interaction between the two men, they couldn't help but smile. It was a familiar sight to witness. "Jiraiya-sama. Naruto-sama." They called out.

The two men stopped their bickering and turned around. "YO!" Jiraiya greeted while Naruto just nodded.

"What brings you guys back to Konoha?" The chunnin with bandages on his face asked.

"Pleasure / Business." Jiraiya and Naruto answered before glaring at each other again. Before another verbal conflict could begin, the last of their companions stepped forward and put her arms around Naruto's waist. "Mou… I'm sure Hokage-sama would be glad to hear about the things that the both of you did over the past months…" She discreetly said.

Jiraiya and Naruto instantly stiffened and began to sweat. At the same time, they both released a loud laugh and had their arms around each other with a fake smile on their face. "Let's go see the Hokage!" They both shouted.

The girl giggled some more as she watched them run straight for the Hokage. As she turned her head, she noticed that the guards were staring at her other two companions strangely. "Don't mind them. They're always like this." With a wave goodbye, she hurried along to catch up with her companions.

As the group made their way to the Hokage Tower, Naruto couldn't help but notice the Hokage Monument. A small smile crossed his face as his gaze slowly wandered. His eyes slowly went from the first to the second to the third and fourth before resting on the newest addition there. The fifth Hokage.

"Looks like the old hag finally got her face on it huh Ero-sennin?" Naruto couldn't help but smirk.

Jiraiya looked up from his notebook before giggling. "Wait until you see the rest of her!" He continued to giggle as memories came flooding back.

Naruto then began to picture it but he instantly stopped his daydream when the female companion began to glare at them. Naruto quickly poked Jiraiya on the ribs, clueing him in about the imminent danger.

"She has the world's biggest -" That was the last thing the perverted man managed to say before he was elbowed in the face. The girl began to stomp on him, swearing curses at the perverted sannin.

"Hikaru-chan! I think Ero-sennin had enough." Naruto tried to reason with her and Jiraiya released a small groan to show that he agreed with Naruto.

Hikaru paid no attention as she picked up a large piece of wood from the ground. "He's still alive isn't he?" She lifted up the log with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "He survived before so he'll definitely survive this."

Naruto couldn't bear to watch what was going to happen so he did the only thing he could. He ran away, saving himself from the terror that was about to unfold on his poor sensei.

Even though Naruto ran away at a fast pace, the screams of agony from greatest pervert to ever walk the earth still reached his ears. Naruto couldn't help but wince at the man's pain. "May you have a speedy recovery Ero-sennin." The blonde performed a small prayer as he left the scene.

- - -

It was several minutes since Naruto left Jiraiya to let him suffer at the hands of Hikaru. As he walked through the hallways of the Hokage Tower, he could hear ninjas talking among themselves, discussing the latest gossips or just talking about training in general. When he finally reached the door he was looking for, he forcefully pushed it open, revealing a surprised team and a stunned Hokage. He smirked as he made his way in.

The team was taken by surprise when this person rudely entered the room. It wasn't just any team. It was a team that Naruto was very familiar with but at the same time, surprised at how much they changed. In fact, he knew it very well. It was his old team and by the looks of it, they didn't recognize him.

As Sakura noticed the young man enter the room, drool began to seep from her mouth. She couldn't help but notice his tone, lean body. It wasn't ripe to the point where it was disgusting. It was just perfect. She could see every muscle on his arms and chest. There was also the fact that this young man's face was something to stare at. His eyes told her everything that she needed to know, the experiences and the wisdom were hidden between those blue eyes. She let out a quiet sigh.

Sasuke, on the other hand, noticed Sakura's odd behavior. He immediately felt an urge to protect his interests. Sakura was part of his fan club and it was his duty to let this newcomer know whose boss.

"I'm sorry but the newly instated genin meeting isn't until next week. This meeting is only for people who achieved a rank of chunnin or higher."

Naruto listened and nodded his head. "I see. So I guess you guys better scram. Genin should be out there training instead of wasting time in here."

Before Sasuke could reply, Naruto walked past the team and glared at the Hokage. "Yo you old hag!" He greeted. Everyone in the room gasped. They couldn't believe what that young man just said. Kakashi literally stopped reading as he also was surprised at this brave young man's introduction.

- - -

Tsunade was never a person for work. If she had it her way, she would be out there gambling and drinking sake instead of here listening to some brats demanding a better mission. Seeing as how her day couldn't get much worse, she sat there listening to their demands, once in a while nodding her head. All this changed however when an unexpected visitor came into her office.

"Yo you old hag!"

She heard his somewhat loud and arrogant voice. Tsunade blinked a couple of times before registering those words. Her eyes started to focus themselves on this pipsqueak. No one gets away with calling her old. Nobody. The Hokage immediately got up from her desk and threw a punch, but Naruto saw it coming. He took a step back and retaliated. Punch for punch.

The result sent Naruto crashing into the wall behind him with Tsunade doing the same thing. The onlookers were shocked to say the least. Their Hokage, the legendary Tsunade of the sannin was known for her remarkable strength. There was no one in history that could mirror her punch and here was a boy who managed to throw a punch with the same amount of force to knock them both back, ending it in a stalemate.

The explosion could be heard from around her office. The noise attracted the attention of several ninjas to instantly make haste for the tower, fearing for the worst.

Hikaru heard the loud impact and instantly stopped beating on Jiraiya. She turned towards the direction of the noise and stared at it. "What's going on?"

Before she knew it, Jiraiya was already on his feet and grabbed his binoculars from inside his vest. As he focused on the Hokage Tower, he rubbed his chin with his free hand. "If I had to take a guess, I think Naruto and Tsunade-hime went at it again."

Hikaru released a small groan before walking away. Jiraiya sighed and followed as well, knowing that his apprentice probably did something stupid again.

_- - -_

_Back Inside the Tower_

Kakashi and Sasuke were already on Naruto, their weapons drawn while Sakura was by her Hokage's side, checking for any critical wounds.

"I suggest for you to not get up. I hate to get blood on this kunai. I just polished it." Kakashi coldly stated. His attention was focused on this guy, wondering what he was thinking when he came in here. Was it for assassination? Suicide mission? There was also the feeling of familiarity with this young man but he couldn't place his finger on it.

Tsunade shook her head, slowly getting up. She narrowed her eyes at the sight before her. "Get your hands off him." She commanded.

Naruto held his breath as he waited for them to remove their weapons but when they didn't, his eyes flickering dangerously. "I believe she said to get your hands off me." He emitted a low growl, showing his displeasure.

When they still didn't move, Naruto closed his eyes and began to tense up his muscles. In a mere second, the moment he opened his eyes, "**Chakra Barrier**!"

A barrier made from pure chakra erupted from his body and pushed everyone away from him. Kakashi and Sasuke were shocked to see a powerful barrier form in an instant. This kid didn't even use any hand seals and they were blasted away by just pure chakra. It was absurd. If the kid could do this and not get tired, he must have an insane amount of reserves.

Naruto slowly got to his feet and made his way over to Tsunade. Ninjas instantly rushed to Tsunade's side and stood guard in front of her, their weapons drawn and ready to kill. Naruto stood there with a small smirk on his lips. "Are you that afraid of just one ninja?"

Everyone in the room tensed up. They were afraid of what was going to happen but before anyone could realize it, Tsunade was on her feet and pushed everyone out of the way before grabbing the boy and hugging him.

At that exact moment, Jiraiya and Hikaru managed to squeeze their way into the office and were greeted by a heart-warming sight. Hikaru smiled while Jiraiya on the other hand, had a lecherous grin on his face with his trusty notepad out.

"It's been a while… Naruto." When Tsunade dropped the name, everyone's eyes dropped. They couldn't believe that this young man was Naruto. The short blond ninja that disappeared 3 years ago after the funeral. The dead last of the academy.

Naruto only smirked. "It's good to see you too. You haven't aged at all."

Tsunade smiled. "Where's Hikaru and that pervert?"

Just hearing her name, Hikaru shy stepped into the open. "Tsunade-sama." The girl bowed. Tsunade grabbed her and gave her a bone-crushing hug as well. "Can't breathe Tsunade-sama." Hikaru managed to get out.

Naruto took this moment to turn and face the team that he left behind. "I really didn't appreciate you holding that kunai to my throat Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sheepishly grinned back. "Maa Naruto. My eye isn't what it use to be." His lame excuse falling on deaf ears. "So how do you know our Hokage?"

Knowing Naruto's habit of exaggerating the story, Tsunade stepped in quickly and answered for him. "Family knows family." The Hokage affectionately answered.

The news of Naruto being family to their Hokage was rather shocking. Kakashi instantly paled a little bit, knowing that he willingly held a weapon to the Godaime's son's throat. It was an act of treason and he could be killed for that. Putting on a façade, he joined in with everyone, having a shocked expression on their face.

Tsunade ignored everyone's shocked looks and turned to Naruto. "What are you doing here brat?"

Naruto had an amusing smirk on his face before biting his thumb. Tsunade noticed the amusing gleam in Naruto's eyes. "What are you doing?"

Naruto quickly went through a series of hand seals before lightly tapping the table with his palm. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Smoke erupted and everyone waited in anticipation. As soon as the smoke cleared, Gamakichi appeared on top of Naruto's head. "Yo Aniki." The toad greeted. "Hello Hikaru-neechan. Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya slightly dropped at his unexpected greeting but nevertheless, the man went on mumbling about ungrateful brats and lack of respect.

"What's going on Aniki?" The small orange toad inquired.

"Can I have those items now Gamakichi?"

The toad shuffled around, searching his jacket for those items. It took the small toad a few seconds before locating it. "Here you go." The toad dropped it onto Naruto's hands before sitting still, wanting to be here for this.

"Thanks." Naruto then presented the two rings to Tsunade. "I come bearing with gifts that I'm sure you'll like."

"Sake?" Tsunade guessed.

"Even better." Naruto opened his palms, revealing two Akatsuki rings. Everyone in the room gasped once more. They had more surprises in this one day than they had in a typical month. It was completely unbelievable.

While everyone had their eyes widened to the size of a sake saucer, Tsunade, on the other hand, looked like a fish by the way her mouth opened and closed. She just didn't believe it.

"Unbelievable…" The Hokage reached out and touched the rings, making sure she wasn't dreaming. "These… actually… are the rings. Whose were they?"

"Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand." Naruto nonchalantly replied.

If it was possible for a mere human to be even more surprise, it was time for them to show it. Everyone stared at Naruto with mind-boggling eyes, each wondering how in the world he managed to pull this off.

"The… How the hell did you do this?" Sakura shouted out.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Se-cr-et." Naruto answered in a teasing voice. "Baa-chan. I'm outta here." With that said, Naruto walked over to Hikaru and disappeared, leaving everyone in the room with a lot of questions and a poor Jiraiya to answer them all.

- - -

"Ramen!" Naruto happily shouted. He tugged on Hikaru's arm, indicating that he wanted to eat ramen.

Hikaru easily gave in, seeing as how ramen was the second most important thing to Naruto. As she watched his happy expression, she began to wonder if she was number one anymore.

"Naruto-kun… What's the most important thing in your life?"

"Rah-" Naruto stopped himself before saying. His eyes widened as he realized what he was going to say. "Rah… Rah…" He felt Hikaru glaring at him and that made him even more nervous. '_How am I suppose to make a Hikaru out of a 'Rah'_.' Naruto mentally cried to himself. Pictures of Ero-sennin getting beat by Hikaru came flashing through his mind and he knew he was next to die.

"Salutations Uzumaki-sama." An eerie but cheerful voice spoke up from behind Naruto. The man stood at a good 6 feet and 2 inches and with an ANBU mask on. "Tsunade-sama requires your presence immediately."

Naruto looked sheepishly at Hikaru before smiling. "Sorry but duty calls." He gave her a quick peck on the cheeks before disappearing.

Hikaru smiled slightly as she touched her cheeks before realizing what just happened. "Ooooh Naruto-kun." She cracked her knuckles. "Your luck is about to run out."

- - -

A few hours later, Naruto and Hikaru found themselves alone on top of the Hokage Monument, just sitting there and enjoying the view. It was a spectacular sight to behold. The village was still busy because of a festival. Just seeing how the village lights up was remarkable. Naruto sighed contently as he sat there. There was nothing more perfect than the view and the girl he was currently holding.

"Hey… Naruto-kun?" Hikaru spoke up, her soft voice gaining his full attention.

"Yeah?"

"What did Tsunade-sama speak to you about earlier?"

Naruto hesitated. "She wanted me to come back." He could feel Hikaru shifting in his arms and he knew her answer for that. She shifted again so that she could have a good view of his face.

"And what did you say?"

Naruto knew this moment was going to come. When he disappeared from her company earlier today, he knew he would have to explain it to her. "I told her no…"

Hikaru stared at her boyfriend. She stared into his eyes, the very eyes that captivated her each time she stared into it. "Why?" She felt a lump on her throat. She knew the reason but she wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"Because I couldn't leave you."

Those five simple words. Who knew they would have a big effect on her. Hikaru started to tear up and hugged Naruto, burying her head into his chest. "Stupid Naruto-kun…" She quietly answered. "What did you really say?"

Naruto sighed as he held on to the girl tighter. "I told her yes." He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. She smelled like lilies for some reason but it didn't matter. Lilies always calmed him down. "But with certain conditions."

Hikaru titled her head up, wondering what those conditions were. "What did you ask for?"

"You." Naruto replied.

Hikaru put her arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. It was a good minute before she broke away, slightly panting for air. "You're a romantic sap you know that?"

Naruto only smirked. "It's the truth. She wanted me to move back here and take on a team. I, of course rejected the offer but when she glared at me, I knew I wasn't going to win the battle so I compromised with her. The only way she'll get me to come here is if you moved here with me."

Hikaru couldn't help but look awe. She didn't believe what Naruto was asking. "Are-Are you sure?" This was a major step up in their relationship.

Naruto only nodded. "It wouldn't be home if you didn't have the people you love with you."

Hikaru soon had tears forming in her eyes. She never once heard Naruto speak this way. "Oh… Naruto-kun…" It made her feel special the way he treated her and that was why she loved him with all her heart.

"Hikaru-chan, the old man once asked me what my dreams were." Naruto stood up and held his hand out for Hikaru. "I told him it was to become Hokage because it sounded like a cool job before." He let out a small chuckle and pulled Hikaru into his embrace. "But now… I want to become Hokage so I can protect you and everyone else that I care for."

The couple stood there together, watching the village from the distance, marveled by the beautiful sight. "No matter where I am, I'll always be here for you Hikaru-chan, protecting and loving you for all eternity."

They stayed there all night long but, unknown to them, a new journey had just begun. There will be many obstacles and challenges awaiting each one but the main thing is to cherish and trust the friends you have because sooner or later, everything will come to an end.

_The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. _

_Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination._

_- Don Williams Jr

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Authors Note: Well what did you think? Room for a sequel? Yes? No? I can see room for a sequel since I wrote this chapter thinking way ahead. Leave me a review with your thoughts guys and Thanks for sticking with me this far. Much appreicated.


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